Rarely do we have the chance to plan ahead to witness history, the good or the bad, the triumphant or the tragic. History doesn't give us a warning in advance, so we are always paying close attention. It just comes.
However, in just over a month, we will have a chance to witness history, with time to prepare. On Jan. 20, 2009, Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the first African-American president, in a country not far removed from an age when blacks and whites couldn't even drink at the same water fountain or attend the same schools.
Regardless of your political leaning, you must admit, this is an historic event. And the beauty is, we know it's coming and have the chance to watch it unfold. However, we will be - or are supposed to be at least - in class. This historic event even falls close to a national holiday, which the University does not honor in any real sense.
This is a chance to make things right.
There is a movement to make MLK Day not a day off but a "day on," a day to work for the justice and peace that Dr. King died fighting for. What better way to honor Dr. King than to provide students with the chance to witness history, an event that many people our parents' age probably thought they would never see in their life time.
Let's take the day off to witness history.
Andrew Pauwels
senior
off campus
Dec. 10
