Student members of Northwestern’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day Committee are pushing to shorten class time on MLK Day in 2001 so students can volunteer in Evanston.
In a meeting on Wednesday, committee members Manu Bhardwaj and Nelly Khidekel discussed canceling classes after the day’s main presentation, which this year ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.
“The goal is not only for people to remember the legacy of Dr. King, but to act on it,” said Bhardwaj, a Weinberg senior who has sought an academic holiday for MLK Day since the 1998-99 school year. “If you had volunteering opportunities in the Evanston area, it would really be helpful. I think it’s a great idea — it would improve town-gown relations, for one.”
Administrators said the proposed changes could positively impact MLK festivities in 2001.
“It’s an interesting idea,” said Stephen Fisher, associate provost for undergraduate education. “I’d like to see the details spelled out.”
Khidekel said she will write a proposal outlining the discussed changes and present it to the committee. She said the community service plan had two major benefits: First, students would stay in the community, helping to foster Evanston-NU relations; and second, it could inspire students to do community service beyond MLK Day.
Committee members said they will meet with Northwestern Community Development Corps next week to discuss service opportunities in Evanston. If the committee agrees to the proposal, it must be approved by NU’s Calendar Committee and by Provost Lawrence Dumas.
Dumas was unavailable for comment Wednesday.
Time off from classes for MLK Day festivities is approved on a year-to-year basis. But Khidekel said administrators have committed to allowing time off for a presentation next year, although the hours have not been decided.
MLK Day Committee co-chairwoman Kathleen Bethel said she was optimistic about the proposed changes.
“It is something that would probably work well,” said Bethel, a librarian.
Bethel said MLK Day’s success this year stemmed from the wide range of events.
“The variety, the depth and the breadth of offerings on both (the Chicago and Evanston) campuses out of various schools was very enticing for the students,” she said. “Dr. King’s life of service as a role model speaks to students’ interests today.”
For next year’s festivities, the committee wants to broadcast the events live over the Internet. Other recommendations include creating a permanent way for Associated Student Government to support student groups’ MLK Day programming.
The committee also developed a wish list of potential speakers. This year’s program featured speeches by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks and civil rights activist Eva Jefferson Paterson. Paterson, an NU alumna, was the first female president of ASG.
Members also asked next year’s committee, not yet appointed by the provost, to begin planning next year’s program during Spring Quarter.
This year — NU’s first universitywide celebration of MLK Day — committee members met for the first time in late July, a meeting time that Khidekel said created numerous problems in securing speakers, facilities and funds.
“It truly was our biggest mistake,” said Khidekel, a Weinberg senior. “This year we’re starting much earlier.”
The committee recommended that four undergraduates be selected to serve on the committee. Two spaces would be reserved for the ASG academic vice president and a representative of Alpha Phi Alpha, King’s fraternity. The other two will be open to a pair of undergraduates.
Khidekel said applications to serve on next year’s MLK Day Committee will be available today in the ASG office at Norris University Center. Applications are due April 17.
