Banners made for King holiday

With the life of Martin Luther King Jr. being celebrated and honored over the next six weeks, a group of 50 students took time out from the first weekend of the semester to help paint banners affixed with his words to be hung over Locust Walk. The students who attended the event, held at Civic House yesterday afternoon, represented 19 campus groups. While grappling over color choices and letter sizes, some students pointed out the direct effects King's leadership had on their lives. "It's obvious that without Martin Luther King, I wouldn't be sitting here [at Penn]," said College senior Akara Forsythe, a member of Onyx, an African-American senior honor society. Groups ranging from the Undergraduate Assembly to Goldberg College House to the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project offered support for the nationally recognized holiday. "Martin Luther King is not relevant only to African-Americans," said College junior Eugene Kwack, a member of the Asian-American Studies Undergraduate Advisory Board. "He's had an effect on Asian Americans and all minorities." Wharton sophomore Ariel Glasner, president of Penn's chapter of AIESEC, an international student-run organization, likened King's cause to AIESEC's in saying, "He promoted respect for people of all races and we promote respect for people of all countries. We take his domestic agenda and apply it on a global scale." "It's a good opportunity for our group to show support for Dr. Martin Luther King, who was a great man," said College sophomore Chereece Lawson, a member of the campus singing group Inspirations. "We felt we had to take a part in it." "I'm very pleased with the turnout [and] of who's taken part," said David Grossman, director of Civic House. "It's pretty emblematic of what the holiday is all about." Grossman added that the banners provide a visual representation of King's dream for the Penn campus. And Tamara Dubowitz, associate director of Civic House and a 1996 College graduate, added to Grossman's sentiments, pointing out the benefit of this type of event in promoting campus unity. "The idea is for Civic House to serve as a resource and common bonding ground for all students on campus," Dubowitz said. Finally, Grossman explained that the mission of Civic House is quite similar to King's in that both are based on equality and understanding. University groups will hold a variety of events in honor of King over the next six weeks, including speeches, a breakfast and symposiums sponsored by many campus organizations.