The arrival of Labor Day brings with it the unofficial end of summer and the excitement of a  year coming to an end. People often spend the day outdoors carrying out a favorite pastime before shifting focus to football, the holidays, and closing shop for winter. 

Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894 and is observed by the government, many businesses, and most public schools. 

You may have noticed on the Clemson academic calendar that the university is fully operational on Labor Day while everyone else is out soaking up one last day in the sun. University Registrar Debra Sparacino shared a statement with The Tiger in which she said, “In observing holidays, the University has always prioritized minimizing disruptions to class and lab schedules. Clemson has a large number of laboratory-based courses…often the week of the Labor Day holiday is the very first week that many lab courses begin meeting.” Sparacino went on to explain that “labs are typically set up for a full week and then dismantled for another lab experience the next week. Losing the Monday for the holiday can be disruptive to the planning, execution and cost of laboratory experiences.” 

Labor Day is just another day at Clemson, and the extra day of instruction means students here are one day smarter than our friends at the University of South Carolina, who observes Labor Day.