For public school students in Randolph, the October holiday formerly known as Columbus Day now appears as Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the school calendar. The Randolph school board has voted 8-0 to rename the holiday, mirroring a shift formalized in recent years by at least seven states and two New Jersey municipalities amid an ongoing, national reassessment of the Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492 and “discovered” the New World.

A Randolph resident who immigrated from Italy in 2007 sent an email to the school board immediately following the May 13 meeting, objecting to the swift adoption of a revised, 2021-22 school calendar without any public notice. Gerlando Termini told NJ Advance Media he views Columbus Day as a tribute to Italian American immigrants, especially those in prior generations who experienced substantial discrimination.