Katie Compernolle, a sociology student at DePaul, quickly packed her psychology books into her Urban Outfitters bag and scurried out into the cold Feb. 18. As she struggled to find a seat on the Red Line train, she wished she attended a university that wasn’t in session on Presidents Day.

Compernolle is one of many DePaul students confused about the school’s policy for Presidents Day.

“I would much rather be in bed right now,” she said. “I would love to know why DePaul does not honor Presidents Day, but many other universities do.”

Kelly Johnson, an associate vice president for academic affairs at DePaul, plays a role in establishing DePaul’s yearly academic calendar. Like other DePaul students and staff, she likes the idea of having Presidents Day off and the opportunity to enjoy a three-day weekend.

Johnson said DePaul has never observed Presidents Day, and, in fact, does not honor many holidays recognized by other universities, such as Columbus Day, Veterans Day and Martin Luther King Day. She said DePaul only honors holidays that serve the purpose of the university. Because DePaul is a Catholic university, for example, the university is closed on Good Friday.

Johnson said DePaul does not hold certain holidays to greater respect than others, but DePaul staff needs to be strategic when deciding what days to take off. Instead of having certain holidays off, staff can encourage students to learn about these holidays in the classroom, she said.

Jill Fields, a public relations student, spent her Presidents Day engaged in a motivating conversation with her teacher and classmates about what Presidents’ Day means. If Fields was not in school on Presidents Day, she said she would not have spent the day learning about the holiday.

Sammi Raines, a public relations student who was in the same class as Fields, said she also enjoyed her classroom discussion about the president.

“Even though I would have loved to sleep in and enjoy a day off this past Monday, I am glad that DePaul did integrate the holiday into the curriculum,” she said. “It is good to encourage students to learn about these holidays in the classroom because we may not have taken the time to do so if we had the day off.”