U. stance on King Day debated

As Martin Luther King Day came to a close yesterday, many students around the University said the question of whether the University should do more about the holiday is open to debate. Hayden Horowitz, president of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, said the University ought to take a "more active role" in planning for and celebrating Martin Luther King Day. Horowitz, a College sophomore whose fraternity held a reception in honor of the holiday, said that non-minority as well as minority fraternities and sororities should lend their hands to the work. "People talk so much about race relations, but it's not until whites and blacks actually sit and talk to each other that problems get taken care of," Horowitz said, citing race problems on campus as an important factor of University life. Some students agreed with Horowitz yesterday, saying that the holiday should have been emphasized more on campus. "[Greater University involvement] in the holiday would have been a positive statement on their part," College senior Susan Egan said. "Especially considering that racial questions are so prevalent on campus." But Egan said the University's disassociation from the holiday is indicative of its attitude toward holidays as a whole. "I guess I understand that they didn't do anything special, because they don't do anything at all for any holiday," she added. "I think the University takes a hands-off policy towards any day of importance to anyone," College senior Mandi Jones said. "They treated it like they treat any other holiday." "One of my professors canceled class [for the holiday]," College sophomore Greg Worley said, adding that he had not realized until then that it was Martin Luther King Day. Worley said it would "probably be a good idea" to celebrate the holiday due to "the diverse population of the school." "I did actually feel bad that we had school," College junior Andrew Frankel said. "It's a government holiday. It doesn't make sense that we should have classes." But other students said that they felt comfortable with the treatment the holiday receives from the University. "I think that anyone that wants to celebrate it should be able to, like any other holiday," Wharton junior Jamie Pickens said. "I don't think it should be a mandatory event, like diversity education." "It's a personal choice," another student added as he ran by to class. The holiday, however, was universally recognized by students as important. "There definitely should be more emphasis on the holiday," College sophomore Jay Wang said. "Only one person [mentioned it] to me today." "It would be good [for the University] to talk about change," College sophomore Douglas Rozek said. "I doubt, though, that the school's ever going to change."