The university should continue to give students the day off to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In 1999, the university canceled classes for the first time on the holiday, beginning a three year trial period. Observance of the holiday will continue if the administration feels students are using the day to participate in planned events and not just as a break from classes.

This year, more than 500 people participated in a march from the Union to the Wharton Center and more than 2,000 packed the Wharton Center’s Great Hall to hear Kweisi Mfume, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People president and chief executive officer, speak.

Last year, nearly 500 people marched from Beaumont Tower to the Wharton Center and nearly 2,000 people attended a speech by civil rights leader Ernest Green. In 1999, people crowded into the Wharton Center’s Pasant Theatre to hear Martin Luther King III, son of the fallen civil rights leader, speak.

Students have proven to the administration that the break from classes is not just a vacation for them. The numbers of participants have increased over the years in the trial period, forcing planners to hold events in larger venues. To get 2,000 students to a non-sporting event on campus is an accomplishment that cannot be ignored. Even if only 50 students participate in the events, the cancellation of classes has given participants an opportunity they would otherwise not have.

To observe the holiday is a gesture of respect for a great civil rights leader. If the university expects the students to take the holiday seriously, it should continue to respect it by giving students the day off so they have the opportunity to use this day to honor King. To stop observing the holiday now only takes away from the message of past events.

Event planners have done a good job of bringing in prestigious speakers and planning a variety of events for students. The more students these events attract, the more will get involved - and the more King’s message will be spread.

That effort should not be squelched.

This is not just an event for the black community. It is an event that promotes equality for all groups. The Alliance of Lesbian-Bi-Gay and Transgendered Students, Culturas de las Razas Unidas and the Black Student Alliance were among those included in the event, promoting a message of inclusiveness beyond black and white.

Staff and faculty members should also be given the day off. Their participation should not be limited to only one or two events. They should have the opportunity to be a part of the entire celebration. This is an event that should be available to as many people as possible.

While students are not in class, they are still learning valuable lessons outside a traditional education environment. To take away the holiday now would only detract from the message past celebrations have brought to the university.

Students have proven this is an event worth keeping and MSU should act as such.