In 2008, the Staff Advisory Committee (SAC) met with students and staff to discuss the elimination of Columbus Day from Brown’s academic calendar. In this letter to President Simmons, SAC agreed to remove Columbus Day. However, they stated that changing the vacation date could bring up work concerns such as transportation and childcare conflicts, as many Rhode Island employers observe the vacation time.[1] What does it mean to keep the vacation date for the sake of work concerns? Is this still a silent acknowledgment of Columbus Day?
[1] Leonard and Umstadter, “Columbus Day Proposal.”