Dozens of students gathered outside Bertrand library last Sunday afternoon to protest the school’s choice to hold class on Presidents’ Day. Although Presidents’ Day has never resulted in canceled class, students for some reason thought they could have a say this year. 

It was reported that protests came from the Malesardi Quadrangle that afternoon. Multiple students gathered in droves, leading one another, yelling “Hey Hey Ho Ho, cancel in honor of Franklin Delano!” A call and response chant was also heard, which was students yelling “What do we want?” “To Sleep In!” “When do we want it?” “Tomorrow morning!”

A bystander was able to provide The Bucknellian with a first-hand account of the scene. Bradley King ’21 decided to take his eighth study break of the day to get a glimpse of the action. When asked what he would do if classes were canceled tomorrow, King said, “My Monday class doesn’t take attendance, so my day wouldn’t really change too much.”

Wendy Smith ’22, who was at the front of the protest, expressed her frustration with the University.

“The University deemed it necessary to cancel class for a snow day last year, but can’t get behind canceling class to honor four of our greatest presidents?” Smith said. When asked if she believed that Presidents’ Day was in celebration of Mount Rushmore, Smith declined to comment.

At the protest, a student who appeared to understand the meaning of the holiday held a picket sign which read “Abraham Lincoln didn’t die for this.” Some onlookers mentioned that her sign may have been tone-deaf. In her defense, however, it was technically correct; Abraham Lincoln did die for an entirely different reason.

Other signs that were spotted at the protest reportedly said things like, “Just say NO to school tomorrow,” “George Washington would’ve given me the day off” and “This is literally a human rights violation.”

 Ronald Donald ’22 had some choice words for the school’s administration in response to the protest. 

“This is a gross miscarriage of justice, the school is stripping of us our rights,” Donald said. Donald seemed to believe that holding classes on Presidents’ Day could lead the University down a dark road. “First they take away Labor Day, now Presidents’ Day. What’s next? The whole summer?” Donald said.

Students were perched in front of the library for over an hour as the protest went on. They eventually cleared out of the area upon the realization that it was Sunday afternoon and their work had not yet been started.