The Daily Gamecock

Students celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with service

The Office of Leadership and Service Center is celebrating the life of Martin Luther King Jr. through the MLK Jr. Days of Service and event series.

The university has been holding the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service since 1996, allowing students to make more out of their days off from classes.The MLK Jr. Day of Service on Monday was completely filled, but students have another opportunity to serve this Saturday. 

According to Luis Sierra, leadership coach in the Leadership and Service Center, the MLK Days of Service are especially important as students reflect on King’s life and teachings. The goal of these days is to help everyone reflect on ways in which they can continue serving their communities, their country and the world beyond these days of service, as we all work together to build the concept of beloved community that King believed in and worked towards.

“We hope for everyone volunteering during our Days of Service to truly make an impact throughout Columbia,” Sierra said. “We also want this day to impact the lives of every one of our volunteers in one way or another. Whether this is their first time serving or their 20th, it is our goal for these Days of Service to plant seeds among those serving and inspire life-long volunteerism.”

After they served on Monday, students had the opportunity to hear from US Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez.

The rest of the week also has a focus on Martin Luther King Jr.In the spirit of King and social activism, USC NAACP is hosting an event titled “Building our Beloved Community: What’s Next?” on Tuesday. They invite students to “join us as we talk about creating a plan of action that we as Carolinians can use to seek solutions to some of the issues that exist in society today.”

On Thursday, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs is starting off this semester’s Diversity Dialogue series with a discussion titled “MLK and COINTELPRO.” The discussion will feature examination of a recently discovered FBI “suicide note” to King, as well as “why this note still matters, impact of government, and privacy laws.”

Throughout the week is the second MLK Faculty/Staff Food Drive, which benefits Gamecock Pantry. Last year 1,144 items were donated through this drive, an amount those involved hope to surpass this year.

“It's not just sitting and teaching them, but getting involved and providing resources that can be beneficial to them,” said Rachel Smith, third-year international studies student and director of the Gamecock Pantry. “It also gives them an opportunity to hear more about it, which is really exciting because students may not come in contact with us, but they will come in contact with a faculty person no matter what. If the faculty knows, then everybody can know.”

Gamecock Pantry is a food bank available to all students with a CarolinaCard. Students can fill out a form and take up to ten items per week, or ten items per person if they have dependents.

“The root of what Dr. King wanted and was focusing on was providing opportunities for all. In his case it was often due to racial differences, but in general he was a big advocate of human rights and giving everybody the opportunity to improve their lifestyle,” Smith said. "The pantry has the unique position to allow students to get the resources they need ... by providing something as simple as food for those who need it, they then have the opportunity to focus on their education, and that can help create that equal playing field.”


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