Honoring our true American heroes

It seems odd that the administration has decided that classes should be held on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, a national holiday that recognizes all the people who have been or are currently in the military. Tufts administrators realized earlier this year that they had to add one more day to the academic calendar because this semester began particularly late in the year. So why did the Tufts administration choose to hold classes on Veterans Day, a holiday that commemorates fallen heroes, over a holiday such as Columbus Day, which is of significance mainly for its commemoration of a false hero?

For over 200 years, millions of citizens have given their time, and often their lives, to defending our country. We owe so much to the military personnel who faithfully put their lives on the line when we are threatened. When they come home, they are welcomed as heroes but often left without the health and monetary benefits they deserve. Tufts is not acknowledging the importance of the work that the military does, and is not drawing attention to the need for sufficiently funding of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

What has Christopher Columbus done for the United States? Sure, he has been falsely accredited with discovering the country over 500 years ago. And yes, he may have been the first recognized European to set foot in the Americas (Norse sailors made a trans-Atlantic journey of their own centuries earlier, but apparently they don't count), but does that really deserve more reverence than the people who have actively worked to protect the United States and its citizens?

Should Christopher Columbus deserve any respect at all? He forced the land's original inhabitants into slavery and led a misbegotten quest for scarce gold. Columbus eventually set up a provisional colony on the island of Hispaniola, mostly by telling apocryphal tales to European elites convincing them that his New World was a glorious place begging for "civilized" settlers. Columbus used violence liberally while governing Hispaniola. This American hero was little more than a charlatan who was out to make money and a name for himself, and who administered his middling colony so poorly that he was eventually thrown into prison and shipped back to Spain.

Veterans, on the other hand, often find more sentimental appreciation than tangible assistance upon their return home. According to a 2008 RAND Corporation study, one out of every five American veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. The Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that 131,000 military veterans are homeless, and has announced a plan to confront this problem. Surely we ought to set aside a day to promote awareness of the issues plaguing those who make sacrifices for our country and come home deeply affected by their service, if not dead.

When the administration is putting together the 2010 academic calendar, it should reconsider its choice of holidays. Veterans Day has a worthy purpose and should be observed by Tufts students. In opting to celebrate Columbus rather than U.S. military veterans, the university is trivializing the sacrifices of our true heroes.