For some students, Martin Luther King Day was simply a day off from class -- a day to sleep in or catch up on reading.
But for hundreds of others, yesterday provided a unique opportunity to set aside textbooks and calculators to honor the nation's most revered civil rights leader, participate in community service activities and meet residents from Penn's surrounding neighborhood.
Marching and singing spirituals down Locust Walk, bundled up in coats and scarves with candles in hand, many students found a candlelight vigil held last night especially moving
"This is the only event at Penn that I've been to every year," Wharton senior Leah Hodge said.
In the Hall of Flags at Houston Hall, the group of marchers expressed to each other why observing Martin Luther King Day -- a federal holiday that only became a University holiday last year -- was so important to them.
"This wasn't a holiday that the University used to recognize, and it's a holiday that a lot of people still don't think is important," Wharton junior Nicole Andrewin said. "But it truly is.
"We celebrate Presidents Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson because they were great men," she added. "What's the difference between them and Martin Luther King?"
Many students encouraged others to follow King's example of questioning societal rules.
"Martin Luther King questioned the status quo," said College sophomore Eliot Glenn. "People need to support this kind of questioning and second guessing, especially students at Penn, since so many of them will end up being leaders."
During the day, while many students were asleep in their dorm rooms or shopping in Center City, many others followed King's ideology and took the initiative to reach out to the community.
"It's only two weeks into the semester," College freshman Ayesha Mansukhani said as she glued a large pink heart onto a felt blanket. "People can't possibly be too busy with studying to come out."
Mansukhani and her hallmates heard from their residential adviser about the Martin Luther King Day volunteer events, which, in addition to making blankets, included stuffing socks with dental supplies, bundling packages of clothes and painting banners.
"We take so much from the community," Mansukhani said. "It's time to give back."
Most of the events were geared towards helping local shelters and retirement homes, and many students said that meeting people outside the Penn community was the most rewarding aspect of the day's events.
"It's fun to work with people you didn't know before for a common cause," Mansukhani said.
Penn students were not the only ones having fun at yesterday's events -- children from local elementary, middle and high schools poured through the doors of Houston Hall and the ARCH in droves.
Laura Mitterman, a College junior and member of the community service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega, helped serve pizza to a swarm of hungry kids inside the ARCH.
"This is a great way for us to get in touch with the community," Mitterman said. "It's been more successful than we ever thought possible."
"The kids had a lot of fun, and that's the most important thing," Mitterman added. "And hopefully, we've taught them something about community service."
