USC must honor the military by observing Veterans Day


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On Nov. 11, the United States observes Veterans Day — the one day a year that is set aside to honor military veterans who have sacrificed so much to protect the nation and its citizens. As of 2018, there were 18.2 million living veterans who had served in at least one war in the U.S. 

In addition to offering Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC programs, USC admits student veterans from every branch of the military into its freshman and transfer classes every year. Despite a comprehensive relationship with the U.S. military, USC does not observe Veterans Day. 

Originally called “Armistice Day,” Veterans Day was first created in 1919 to celebrate the end of World War I in the U.S. This is why the holiday is celebrated on Nov. 11 every year: It is held in honor of the “11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918, the end of the war. 

The U.S. government observes Veterans Day as one of 10 annual federal holidays, meaning all public schools in California have the day off. However, because USC is a private institution, the University is not required by law to observe the holiday. 

Although USC does not observe Veterans Day, for more than a century, the institution has supported the U.S. military. During World Wars I and II, USC served as a training school for people serving in the military. 

On Oct. 1, 1918, nearly 900 students were sworn into Students’ Army Training Corps on Bovard Field. From 1939 to 1945, USC placed barracks on campus to accommodate additional students in the naval preparatory flight cadet school and Army, Navy and Air Force programs. Since 1981, USC has been one of an estimated 60 institutions in the nation approved to host an Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC program. 

In addition to facilitating Army, Navy and Air Force training programs, USC leads in military-related research initiatives. In 1952, the USC Aviation Safety and Security program became the first aviation safety program at a major university. The Information Sciences Institute at USC launched in 1972 to support the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, developing state-of-the-art computing, information processing and communications technology. In 1999, The Institute for Creative Technology at USC was created to generate technologies for military leaders to improve their interpersonal communication and decision-making skills.

More recently, the Navy Trauma Training Center was created in 2002 with Los Angeles County and the Keck School of Medicine as the leading training site for expeditionary medicine in preparation for deployment abroad. After the events of 9/11, the University launched the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events — a national research academy that brings together policymakers and engineers to assist the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In 2009, the School of Social Work established the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families with the purpose of educating policymakers on issues that impact veterans and their families. 

Evidently, USC has a long history of supporting the military through periods of both wartime and peace, in facilitating both training programs and research initiatives and in accommodating programs across a spectrum of USC schools in the undergraduate and graduate levels. Yet the school does not observe Veterans Day as a holiday. 

For an institution that has such a long-lasting and comprehensive relationship with the military, the University should have Veterans Day to honor the community that plays such an integral role in making USC the dynamic place it is today. According to the USC Military and Veterans Initiative, USC is a “leading institution” for veterans, so it is especially disheartening that the school does not observe Nov. 11 as a holiday. 

USC has to make a change — for a school that is a “leading institution” for veterans, USC needs to start leading by example and must observe Veterans Day.