Though students may be looking forward to using the weekend to relax at home or catch up on homework, the University is hoping that they will take some time this long weekend to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King - and it is offering several programs and activities for this purpose.
For the 12th year in a row, students and faculty of Penn will come together on Monday to remember King. Events will continue to Jan. 26, starting with a Day of Service Breakfast, which will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. in Houston Hall on Monday.
The keynote speaker at the breakfast will be Kofi Asante, a legal practitioner, who has been active throughout the years in employing men who have had difficulties finding employment.
The MLK Committee has been active in handling the behind the scenes work on MLK day programs, planning events throughout the day such as making pillows that will be donated to shelters and hospitals, creating books on tape to promote literacy and cleaning up West Philadelphia High School.
Robert Carter, the co-chair of the MLK Committee, said he believes that the committee hopes to promote a message of "being a good neighbor" and understanding that "we are all brothers and it's important that we can speak to one another and look out for one another."
"Everyone shouldn't take a day off, but rather a day on to participate in the many events that will be held on the 15th. . This one day is put aside to appreciate a man who's made it his life's mission to create a better world," he added.
The Black Student League has also organized several events, including an MLK Birthday Bash in Houston Hall's Hall of Flags Jan. 19 at 8 p.m.
Elizabeth Dawes, president of the Black Student League, said that minority students today are extremely fortunate, and that she hopes the event will allow minority students to "not forget the sacrifices that people have made in the past."
Information about MLK Day can be found on http://www.upenn.edu/aarc/mlk.
