The office of student life held its Presidents Day celebration Monday, Feb. 16 at the UTEP Union Plaza.

The celebration is part of the historical events section, organized by the Office of Student Life, and it’s aimed to celebrate the federal holiday and get students involved.

“We focus on students in campus events. We have different sections, such as cultural and social events,” said Lindsay Adams, student assistant for the office of student life. “So we are celebrating Presidents Day to see if UTEP students know their history and presidents.”

Students got the opportunity to take part in activities, such as president fun facts, photos on a Mt. Rushmore frame and the presidents’ challenge—an activity where participants were tasked with arranging pictures of the nation’s presidents in order.

“These types of events and activities are great for UTEP, since we can often overlook these federal holidays if we don’t have the day off,” said Isaac Villa, junior psychology major. “If you think about it, there is probably a large body of the student population that are not even aware that today is Presidents Day, or why it’s celebrated.”

In contrast with the post office or some major banks, UTEP does not cancel classes or university activities during Presidents Day.

Presidents’ Day became a federal holiday in 1879 to commemorate George Washington’s birthday, and was also adopted to celebrate all of the other presidents of the U.S.

Alonso Moreno may be reached at [email protected].

[aesop_gallery id=”9882″]