Many people don't know the facts and history of "Columbus Day." Here's a quick way to find out.

Step 1: Go to Class

If you haven't realized...we have class today.

Today isn't just like any other Monday. Today is a federal and a university holiday. It is "Columbus Day."

Step 2: Learn The Facts and History

The Facts

We have school on "Columbus Day" this year because Labor Day was so late. In order to have the appropriate days of teacher instruction we needed to have classes during a University Holiday.

Last year, the TCU Senate passed S. 14-9 A Resolution to Reconstitute Columbus Day as Indigenous People’s Day. This resolution "urged" our university to recognize Columbus Day as Indigenous People's Day on all further calendar distributions.

The university calendar still lists Oct. 12, 2015 as "Columbus Day" and continues to list it as such on the 2016, 2017 and 2018 academic calendars.

History of "Columbus Day"

Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1937 as a way to commemorate the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the "New World" in 1492 and to promote patriotic ideals and citizenship.

Now, very few organizations and companies, outside of government agencies, have paid time off on "Columbus Day." Some states do not even recognize Columbus Day as a public holiday.

Step 3: Have a debate with a fellow Tufts student on the term PC.

Here are some helpful talking points.

Is Tufts too "ridiculously PC"?

The short answer - no, not about this.

When Columbus discovered the "New World" in 1492, there were already native people living here. According to some historians, Columbus was responsible for the genocide of these natives. So while blunt, Columbus could be called a "racist murderer."

While not every public holiday has a perfect past, the fact that we have a university and a federal holiday honoring someone for the discovery of something that they didn't even "discover" is a bit troubling.

The alternative to "Columbus Day" passed by the TCU Senate last year is a sound one. Some universities like Cornell and UC Berkeley, already renamed Columbus Day as Indigenous People's Day. Other universities, like the University of Pennsylvania, have a fall break--where they have two days off on the Thursday and Friday prior to "Columbus Day." They effectively avoid the ethical dilemma of having off on a federal holiday honoring Columbus.

So, why has our university not put the recommendation to rename the holiday into effect?

In a recent Daily article, our university appears to blame our administrative bureaucracy. The committee that approves our academic calendars meets every five years so it takes time for changes to the calendar to be put into effect.

However, and maybe this is my wishful thinking, but I believe if the administration wanted to make a simple name change they could do that without having to wait until 2019.

Perhaps our university is just following the example of our federal government in maintaining the status quo.

Why is it still a national holiday at all?

Attempts at eliminating "Columbus Day" as a federal holiday have been stopped by many Italian-Americans who regard it as a way for celebrating their heritage. Perhaps we need a better alternative for Italian-American heritage celebrations that are separate from this one guy.

Step 4: Celebrate?

I've already started my own mini-rebellion to put an end to "Columbus Day" by putting it in quotation marks throughout this article.

So, won't you join me in celebrating "Columbus Day?"