Hillsdale should celebrate Constitution Day. 

Why it doesn’t already, nobody knows. It would be in the College’s best interest to do so. After all, the Constitution is almost synonymous with Hillsdale’s identity and brand as an educational institution. 

Out at the Washington, D.C., campus, Hillsdale has a swanky two-day celebration dedicated to the Constitution, complete with dinners, speeches, panels, and debates. George Washington Fellows get flown out to D.C. to staff the event. But where is its equivalent on Hillsdale’s main campus? As far as I can see, there isn’t one. 

As it stands, Hillsdale doesn’t take either Constitution or Labor Day off. Some say that Hillsdale has school on Labor Day to prevent freshman homesickness. Others say that Hillsdale doesn’t take the day off because it smells of Communism.

But none of the objections to Labor Day apply to Constitution Day. Take, for instance, the argument that freshmen will get homesick if they are given a long weekend so early in the semester. Celebrating Constitution Day avoids that question altogether  — it falls a few weeks later in the semester, so there’s less of an excuse to go home. 

Having a day off generally means taking a day from Christmas break or summer break. But would most people care if their semester is a day longer? My suspicion is no, probably not.

Christmas and summer breaks are long. And by the end of them — whether it’s because they worked a tedious job, had a helter-skelter internship, or struggled with complicated family dynamics — most students are itching to get back to school. 

And a small break after the first month of school would be a welcome relief before the upcoming pressures of homecoming and midterms. 

Constitution Day dodges the dubious origins of Labor Day. It is true that Labor Day is a celebration of the industrialized worker’s contribution to society, and, whether rightly or wrongly, it’s something that makes some people’s skin crawl at Hillsdale. But what if we celebrated something that is not an insignificant part of our experience, such as the system of government that our founders enshrined in our Constitution? 

Okay, maybe the Constitution doesn’t give you chills. But my point stands — what if we celebrated something that is integral to both our nation and experiences as students at Hillsdale College? 

The good Lord only knows that we love to talk about the Constitution at Hillsdale. It’s included in the Core curriculum, promulgated in little pamphlets, and featured prominently as part of Hillsdale’s Online Courses. In some ways, talking about the Constitution here can almost feel like you’re contributing to a well-worn cliche — one that we’re all familiar with and that causes many to roll their eyes. 

But maybe if we actually celebrated the day — made it a day to rest, socialize, read — it would feel less so. All our talk would be more meaningful if we could actually enjoy a day celebrating the freedoms it gives us. It might just be another day for most Americans, but Constitution Day would actually have some importance for Hillsdale students. 

Maybe having an extra day off doesn’t seem like much. But in the case of Constitution Day, it means staying true to what we claim to cherish here at Hillsdale. And we would all be thankful for it. 

 

Elizabeth Crawford is a senior studying politics.