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Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Merced College to vote on when to observe Veterans Day

Holiday falls on a Thursday next year

Merced College will vote tonight whether to observe Veterans Day next year on the official holiday date.

At the board meeting last month, board members couldn't make up their minds on whether to honor the official holiday, or the day after, a Friday, to create a three-day weekend.

Then, canceling classes on Friday was the recommendation of the campus administration.

Now, college president Ben Duran will ask the board to approve a campus holiday for the Thursday.

"We just listened to different folks and realized it was not a big deal one way or another," Duran said Monday.

The college administration had originally proposed moving the observance one day later to minimize the impact on students because fewer classes are held on campus each Friday.

That recommendation was met with opposition from the college's faculty association and classified employees union.

"We believe that it cheapens the significance of the meaning of Veterans Day to use the holiday to extend a weekend rather than to celebrate military veterans with the nation on the day federally set aside for that purpose," faculty and staff argued in a letter signed by the presidents of both organizations.

At last month's board meeting, student trustee Hiram Dominguez-Cruz said students also supported observation on the actual holiday.

Board members Eugene Vierra, Jinet Troost and Lew Braxton voted to approve the academic calendar -- a planning document which contained all campus holidays, including the starting and ending date for the next school year -- as it was proposed by college administration.

Les McCabe, Eva de Long and Robert Haden voted against the calendar because of the Veterans Day switch.

Board member Jim Glidden, was present at the meeting, but abstained from voting and the calendar wasn't approved.

A motion by McCabe to move the holiday to Veterans Day also didn't pass at that time.

Finally, the board voted to approve the start and end of the academic year, plus all other holidays, but pushed a vote on Veterans Day until tonight.

Veterans Day is a federal holiday, and employees of the national government won't work Thursday, Nov. 11, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Tonight's board meeting will be held at the administration conference room at the Merced College campus in Merced. The public session of the board starts at 6 p.m.

Reporter Danielle E. Gaines can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dgaines@mercedsun-star.com.