By: Emily Scieszka | Staff Writer
We made it Seahawks! It’s time for McAuley Day!… Or is it?
On the crisp fall morning of Friday, September 22, 2023 the campus arose to a newsletter that was sent out in regards to Salve’s annual McAuley Day. With the subject line already spoiling the mystery of what day we would be celebrating our beloved campus tradition, the students could tell that something wasn’t quite right.
To our surprise, McAuley Day, a day honoring the late Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy and Salve Regina, would no longer be celebrated the way that we had always known. In previous years, McAuley Day honored a no class policy, in which students would be exempt from their classes and would be able to attend a fun festival, which included exciting activities such as food trucks, music, and others. In order to keep this tradition a surprise, Salve Regina would not make the announcement of McAuley Day until the night before, when both the students and faculty would find out the news.
One thing to note is that Salve Regina is not the only college campus to honor a tradition similar to McAuley Day. At other colleges, they call it “Mountain Day,” and it, too, is a day off from classes and the students can participate in numerous activities. Here at Salve, we just wrapped that tradition into celebrating the birthday of Catherine McAuley. Students, from freshmen to seniors, look forward to this day to meet new people and have a break from the stress that college can bring them.
Recently, there has been some backlash from the University professors about McAuley Day because they, like the students, wouldn’t find out until the night before, causing their syllabus and class schedule to fall behind. In 2023, Salve Regina decided that because the professors were expressing their own negative feelings on this tradition, McAuley Day would no longer be a day off from class, and students would only have limited times throughout the day in which they could stop at one or two food trucks and get a quick treat.
I believe Salve Regina should have handled this now controversial but beloved tradition in the following way: Tell the professors and faculty what day McAuley Day would be celebrated before the academic year begins. This would solve many issues surrounding this day because the students still wouldn’t find out until the night before, the professors can plan around the day that they won’t be teaching, and it gives everyone more time to plan fun activities for that day.
If Salve Regina adopted the new layout presented above, then it would make everyone happy, especially after the collective anger and sadness that arose from the undergraduate students this past McAuley Day. All fingers will be crossed until next fall of 2024 when our favorite tradition returns, but will it come back as the way we remember it? We will have to wait and see.
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