krm001@marietta.edu
Kylee McBride
As spring semester began and students tried to get used to their new schedules, Marietta College gave staff and students the day off from class to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. with our own official Day of Service.
Martin Luther King Jr. visited Marietta College in 1967. This is the first year our campus has honored the national holiday by dismissing students and staff from classes. There were several college campuses across the United States that have not previously recognized MLK Day with a Day of Service until now. Many people viewed switching gears and encouraging students to get involved with service projects on campus to show appreciation for one of many historical figures like Dr. King as having potential to positively impact the entire campus along with the surrounding community of Marietta.
The proposal for adding a national holiday to our calendars originated in 1968 shortly after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. The initial idea was to make King’s birthday a holiday recognized all over the country, as presented to Congress by John Conyers and Edward Brooke. At the start, the bill was short by five votes. The bill gained more media attention following the initial proposal and resulted in a lot of back-and-forth from both sides of the argument. Once Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1981, he was originally against creating Martin Luther King Day as a federal holiday. November 2, 1983 was the day that President Reagan signed the bill to make MLK Day an official holiday in the United States. For more historical information on MLK Day, you can visit www.calenar-365.com.
On Monday, January 21, students had the opportunity to choose a service project to volunteer with for a few hours that morning. Following the morning of service students were provided lunch in the DBRC. During lunch, the all-male student organization Brother-to-Brother (B2B) had two student members recite two famous speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.
Senior Mel Shuler recited King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountain Top” speech. Freshman Eric Landrum recited King’s “Thomas Series Lecture,” which is the same speech he gave upon visiting Marietta College campus in 1967. “It was an honor to be a part of the day of service. Our members enjoyed it as well. It meant a lot because without Dr. King, we don’t know where we would be. It was a great lead into what our organization has planned for the remainder of the year,” said Shuler. Landrum hopes that the MLK Day of Service continues to produce positive results here at Marietta College, and all over the world.
“Given the history of this nation and the unique role that race and race relations has played from its inception, this one long-hard-fought-for holiday—I would hope there would be some recognition that this is not just another holiday,” –Mark Russel, Indianapolis Star.
