Students celebrate MLK week
By NATASHA GRANT
News Writer
Beginning today, Notre Dame students prepare to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr.
While Notre Dame and Saint Mary's students must attend classes today, several groups and individuals hope to help students celebrate King's achievements through events with the overall theme, "Making Your Mark: A Journey Through Leadership." The weeklong program will feature a dinner titled "Food for a Journey" and a Mass, "Light for the Journey," said Ken Seifert, the student coordinator of the series of events and a member of the MLK committee.
Seifert said that Wednesday's dinner is not open to the public but that invitations were distributed to students who expressed an interest in King and in multiculturalism.
"We're looking for people who can contribute to the discussion and learn from each other," said Siefert. Some of the issues that will be discussed at the dinner include racism, equality, war, gender relations, economic status and diversity.
The Mass, which will be held on Thursday at 7 p.m., will be open to all students and staff, said Siefert.
Melody Gonzalez and Andy Gomez, who will be singing in the combined choir at the MLK Mass on Thursday night, will play a pivotal role to the success of events this week. As director of Coro Primavera, Gonzalez was encouraged to perform with the Celebration Choir and Voices of Faith by Iris Outlaw.
"When Iris mentioned the possibility of Coro Primavera participating, I was thrilled and accepted immediately," she said. "Coro has always wanted to sing with other choirs on campus."
Gonzalez also cited the importance of the event and her admiration for the person being celebrated as reasons why she was honored to be a part of the choir. "For me, Martin Luther King Jr. is a remarkable role model and a true inspiration," she said.
Gonzalez said she hopes that people will gain more from this week's events than simply learning about King.
"I hope that students can be able to take his message to others and practice it in their own lives," she said. "This is a very strong message, especially in our current times as we think about all the injustices around the world, from war to sweatshops and other human rights abuses."
Although Gonzalez believes the planned events will help educate students, she said more could be done on by the University to give the holiday the attention she thinks it deserves.
"In my opinion, holidays like Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Cesar Chavez Day are more important than some of the other holidays we celebrate", she said.
Gonzalez said she does not believe that classes should be cancelled because that would make students appreciate the significance of the holiday. "It would be nice to hear more about it in the classrooms or see more advertisement for the events" Gonzalez said.
Gomez said he also hopes that the celebration will make people more aware of King.
"I think it is somewhat overlooked on campus because it is a national holiday, but here at [Notre Dame] we still have to go to class and go on with other activities," he said. "A wider recognition of MLK is certainly a worthy cause, and I just think that we just want more of an awareness of why there is a MLK celebration." he said.
Gomez said students and administrators in particular should be responsible for promoting awareness of the holiday.
"I think the University should make more of an effort to try to promote awareness of [King] to give him the proper credit due even if we are still in attendance in class," he said.
All News Stories for Monday, January 20, 2003
