Tusculum College will be closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but that does not mean that the holiday will not be commemorated on campus. Activities are scheduled for the remainder of the week to honor the life and legacy of the Civil Rights leader.
Activities begin Tuesday with a creation of a “Wall of Tolerance” inside the Niswonger Commons. Students will have the opportunity to show their commitment to living the reality of Dr. King’s dream by signing a brick pledge to add to the wall. That evening an “MLK Celebration” is scheduled inside the Pioneer Perk which will include games that give students a chance to test their knowledge of Dr. King and civil rights against each other.
On Wednesday, “remembrance ribbons” will be given out for the Tusculum community to wear in remembrance of those who have fought injustice and intolerance. A community forum will be held on at 7 p.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center inside Niswonger Commons to discuss such issues as the healthcare crisis, teen pregnancy, lack of educational opportunities, and the economic meltdown and how Americans can help themselves and others grasp the American dream.
A remembrance service celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. King will be held Thursday morning in the Niswonger Commons lobby. That evening, “A Time for Burning,” will be shown in Library Classroom #112. The film chronicles the relationship between the minister, the Rev. L. William Youngdahl, his white Lutheran parishioners and black Lutheran parishioners in the community. Youngdahl was the son of a former governor of Minnesota and federal judge, Luther Youngdahl. The film includes a meeting between Youngdahl and a black barber, Ernie Chambers who tells the minister that his Jesus is “contaminated.”
On Saturday, the Tusculum College community has an opportunity to carry on the legacy of Dr. King by serving others through a campus clean-up.