Editorial Board

The Issue:Students tend to use Veterans’ Day as a day off rather than a day to remember the people who fought to protect their freedom.

The Stance:Students should take the time to participate in activities whenever they spend the long weekend.

Many students plan to get out of town this weekend, whether traveling home to rest and actually finish homework or to the big city for some relaxation and shopping. Some students will stay in Brookings because they want to cheer on the volleyball, women’s basketball and football teams or because they have to work. How many of us plan to celebrate Veterans’ Day?

Veterans’ Day, the reason no one has to go to class on Nov. 12, began after World War I and was called Armistice Day. The holiday marks the signing of an armistice between the Allies-France, Russia, Great Britain, Italy and the United States-and Germany on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918. It is designated as a national holiday to honor everyone who has been to war. Veterans’ Day is not just an American holiday-most of the Allied nations still celebrate the holiday, although each calls it by a different name.

Veterans’ Day is not a holiday solely for our parents’ and grandparents’ generations; because of the Iraq War, it is our holiday too. Kids we grew up with and fellow Jackrabbits have given over a year of their time, delaying their lives, to serve in the military and fight for their country. Let’s use Nov. 12 to honor the sacrifices our peers and predecessors made in order to protect not only our own freedoms, but also to ensure that people all over the world can live in peace.

There are many ways to honor veterans on their day. Most communities will hold public ceremonies and invite a local war hero to speak about his or her experiences. In Brookings, the Air Force ROTC is holding a 24-hour veteran’s vigil at the Brookings Veterans Memorial, which is located near the bowling alley. The SDSU Veterans’ Club plans to send care packages to deployed soldiers and will be collecting supplies in The Union on Nov. 9. You can write a letter to a friend who is in Iraq and let him or her know what they mean to you. Find a veteran from any war and thank him or her for serving. Simply take the time to meditate on your freedoms and why you have them.

It is easy to forget the reasons we get that extra day to sleep in, but this one is too important to ignore. Do something to show the veterans you appreciate their sacrifices.