In short: More than just a day off from classes, Honors Day is a great way to recognize the successes of Alabama students.

To many UA students, today is pretty much Saturday come a day early. A Friday off just makes it easier to drive home to Birmingham, Huntsville, Mississippi or wherever parents, pets and a comfortable mattress are.

To some, it might cause confusion. Honors Day has, in the past, been held on Good Friday. Some believe it’s an excuse to give students a long weekend to go home for Easter. That wasn’t the case this year.

But to some UA students, Honors Day’s true purpose is readily apparent. The day was created to allow student honor organizations to conduct their inductions and hold events when their members would not be in class. After all, no student in an honors society should have to skip class in order to be praised for success and discipline.

UA students often overlook honors societies, and Honors Week is a time of the year set aside for them. It lets us recognize the top young rising stars at UA who won’t be lining up in Bryant-Denny Stadium for A-Day. For one week out of the year, the students who make the University the best academic institution in Alabama (better than that “cow college on the other side of the state,” as the Bear would say) get all of the recognition.

The day off for Honors Day puts the thought of honors societies into the minds of students who otherwise might not even realize that the University has organizations just to recognize outstanding academic achievement. Many students were members of National Honors Society or something similar in high school, but in college, do not seek out groups like that again. Honors Week and Honors Day are here to make sure that students are aware of these groups and know what they want to be involved in.

The abundance of these groups may be startling to some students who weren’t aware of their existence, but the publicity created should be about more than just getting a Friday off. That Friday off is to honor those among us who succeed at what they are really here for, and to encourage them to keep up the good work.

Regardless of how many national championships we win in sports, we should always be able to hang our houndstooth hat on the quality of our academics. That’s what today is about.

Our View is the consensus of The Crimson White’s editorial board.