While UP won’t be hosting classes on Monday, Jan. 20, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UP’s celebration of King’s legacy will continue from Jan. 18 to 23 with a week of on- and off-campus MLK Day ON events, including service opportunities.
This year’s theme, chosen by the MLK Day ON committee, is “Hope Matters.” The University considers Martin Luther King Jr. Day to be a holiday dedicated towards service, according to Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Committee Chair Tshombé Brown.
“Part of our identity is that we want to be a university for, of and with Portland, and that means being intentional about taking time off in order to serve,” Brown said. “One of Martin Luther King’s questions… is ‘what are you doing for others?’”
On Monday, Jan. 20, there will be a mass held in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher at 12:05 p.m. in honor of Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, for whom the Moreau Center is named.
Following the mass celebration is an interdisciplinary panel at 3 p.m. in the Brian Doyle Auditorium, where six faculty and administration, including political science professor Anne Santiago and Director of the Dundon-Berchtold Institute Daniel McGinty, will address this year’s Day ON theme, “Hope Matters,” and discuss how collaboration contributes toward growth.
The MLK Day ON celebrations will conclude on Thursday, Jan. 23 at the men’s basketball game against San Diego. The theme “Hope Matters” will be promoted during the game’s timeouts and halftime, according to Brown.
MLK Day ON began on Saturday, Jan. 18, with a Day of Service, during which students, faculty, staff and alumni chose between seven service activities.
For one of the service opportunities, the University collaborated with Our Village Gardens, an organization dedicated to increasing food accessibility in local affordable housing neighborhoods. The organization fulfills Martin Luther King Jr.’s mission through community building, according to the Moreau Center’s Program Manager for Community Partnerships Clare Kennedy.
“That organization stands out to me in particular as being especially relevant to MLK Day… because so much of the work they do is about … creating a community that is really rooted in hope and justice and love,” Kennedy said.
Additionally, two of the volunteer opportunities were held on campus. The Chapel of Christ the Teacher hosted an opportunity to clean the chapel and write letters to senior community members and a Green Dot bystander training was held in Dundon-Berchtold Hall.
On Sunday, Jan. 19, the University hosted an Interfaith Vigil Celebration at 7 p.m. in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher, a tradition dating back to before UP began pausing classes for the holiday, according to Brown.
The vigil featured assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Health Innovations Marjorie Attis-Josias and Collegium Supervisor in the School of Education Karen Eifler.
Students, faculty and staff can RSVP for the Jan. 20 panel on Engage, though registration is not required unless audience members want to attend virtually.
Kaeden Souki is a reporter for The Beacon. He can be reached at souki28@up.edu.
