Washington and Lee University should suspend all undergraduate classes to observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day—just as the Law School did in 2013—because the recognition of King Day is long overdue.

Given the history of this nation, King Day is not just a day off—MLK Day is the only federal holiday for people to formally celebrate our nation's cultural, racial, and social progress. More importantly, the Day provides an avenue of reflection to also consider America's greatest remaining moral deficits.

Washington and Lee University’s historic entwinement with the Civil War has its rightful place in history, but, such ties must not frustrate ideals of human progress, equality, and inclusion. Indeed, in light of our institution's history, by failing to formally recognize King Day, W&L sends negative and insensitive messages to the world. W&L should observe the Day to clearly signal that our University community is socially inclusive and not opposed to the ideals of King.

If we hope for W&L to continue to be academically competitive, then our institutional policies must be culturally competent. W&L's peer institutions—other small liberal arts colleges, such as Amherst College and Williams College—formally observe MLK Day by suspending classes, and so should we.

How can W&L strive to be a leader in higher learning while maintaining social policies of the 1950s? This is unacceptable. 

As members of the W&L community, we do not buy into the belief that there are compelling institutional interests that justify foregoing the celebration of King Day, including, but not limited to (1) the loss of valuable instruction time, (2) because W&L does not recognize any other statutory holidays, or (3) because of potential conflict as a result of Founders' Day and/or Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) programming. 

The fact is, there are no compelling reasons that outweigh the enormous contributions of King and other civil rights leaders. W&L should thus formally set aside a time to reflect upon the injustices and differences that continue to plague America. Classes should be suspended to allow students to participate in a "day of service" or similiar programming offered by the University that stresses and embodies the life, lessons, and legacy of King. While it would be incorrect to assert that W&L turns a blind eye to King Day, our Union is still imperfect, and there's still much work to do.

In formally recognizing King Day, W&L students would still be learning. A day dealing with the life lessons of King is no less valuable than a day learning about Rawlsian philosophy or magnetohydrodynamics. Learning is learning, and W&L has duty to educate.

We know that it is not a matter of whether W&L will ever recognize MLK Day—it is a matter of when W&L will finally make it official. Recognition is inevitable.

To the Board of Trustees and senior-level administration, Dr. King declared that "The time is always right to do what's right,” and the time to recognize King Day is now.

As members of the W&L community, we have grown weary of waiting for the formal recognition of King Day to roll in on the wheels of inevitability. As beneficiaries of King’s efforts, we stand in solidarity to petition Washington and Lee University to suspend undergraduate classes—thus joining the Law School—to formally observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

This petition represents the collective interests of the Washington and Lee Black Law Students Association (BLSA), the Washington and Lee Student Association for Black Unity (SABU), Student Association for International Learning (SAIL), and the broader Washington and Lee University community.

To contact us, please e-mail us at wlu4mlkday@gmail.com​

For social media, consider using #RecognizeTheDream and/or #WLU4MLKDay