King's legacy celebrated as classes begin

A booming voice echoed across the 38th Street bridge yesterday. The words were those of Martin Luther King Jr., and though he was not there to deliver them in person, his sentiment was very much alive in the facial expressions of students who took the time to celebrate King's peaceful message. But amidst the widespread excitement on the part of students about the line-up of celebratory activities yesterday, some students took issue with the University's decision to begin classes on King's birthday. Although students did understand that the University does not recognize many other holidays, they had mixed emotions about the semester beginning on such a revered national holiday. "I'm disappointed in the Universities decision to hold classes on Martin Luther King's Birthday," said Engineering senior Donovan Fairclough. But he added that he would not let classes interfere with his personal celebration. Wharton senior Alaina Anderson said that for her, classes were secondary to the King commemoration. "I'm not going to be idle," Anderson said. "It's just that I would like to be able to go to participate in all the activities today without worrying about what I'm missing in class." Wharton senior Jason Walker did not perceive the situation as a negative one. "We're living King's dream by going to class," Walker said. "Although I do feel that maybe canceling class would be an incentive for more diverse groups of students to attend commemorative events." English Professor Herman Beavers said that though he was not slated to teach any classes yesterday, he does not think the celebration was affected by the first day of classes. "However, as much as I wanted to use my class time last year to commemorate King, I canceled class because I decided that my students would want to celebrate the day in their own fashion," he said. Beavers added that despite the planning of celebratory events, he worried that Penn was still a white supremacist institution that was not giving enough respect to King's legacy. Broadcasting King's speeches on Locust Walk was just one of many ways in which the University celebrated King's birthday. The holiday commenced with a breakfast at W.E.B. DuBois College House, where students gathered to reflect and rejoice in King's honor. The remainder of the day was filled with speeches, discussions and luncheons that were followed up in the early evening by a Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative program. The night ended on a powerful note at an anti-violence vigil as students lit candles at DuBois House and proceeded to march down Locust Walk singing the hymn, "We Shall Overcome."