According to President John Comerford, Blackburn College’s planning committee has been having a year-long conversation on whether to cancel classes or not on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The final decision has come down to the former. At the beginning of the 2018 spring semester, classes will not be held on the holiday.
Comerford said this decision has involved input from planning committee as well as Student Senate. “Basically, everyone came to the conclusion that there should be more focus on Martin Luther King Jr. Day,” he added. There were also conversations held between Blackburn’s peer institutions called the G-11 and Chair of Mathematics Chris Morin. Comerford learned that out of 11 colleges only one other (Principia College) did not offer a break from classes for the holiday. Despite the 2017-18 calendar not being released yet, Comerford did confirm that classes are cancelled on the holiday, but there has not been an official decision on whether or not offices will be open.
Thomas Barksdale and Deja Luckett at the 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration
In order to have the day off, the 2018 spring semester will have to start earlier but Comerford explained that there would be an additional day where classes will not be held. “There has been talk of using it for a campus symposium day where senior students would be able to display their seminars,” he said. “Another option is reintroducing reading day.” Reading day has been held in past years prior to finals.
Student Senate President Ajay Minton clarified that no official vote has taken place within this year’s Student Senate on whether or not they believe classes should be cancelled on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Essentially, they have not expressed their final thoughts to the planning committee. Until this point, there was only one discussion within the senate on the topic. According to Minton, the group seemed to be in favor of the idea that those assigned to essential work positions on that day should continue with their jobs but classes should not be held and offices should remain closed.
In addition to changes being made with the holiday in regards to classes being held, Blackburn has also found a new way to honor the day instead of hosting a convocation. In the past, students would gather in Bothwell Auditorium to watch a presentation and see who received the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership award. This year, students participated in a more interactive celebration. Sophomore political science major and Diversity and Inclusion student worker Deja Luckett assisted with the event and explained the differences that took place.
Luckett said there were tables set up in the Claire Jaenke Alumni Center where workers asked attendees questions about Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. Relevant movie clips were also shown. “There were around 65 to 70 people there,” she said. “It was effective in the volume of people that attended, but I think more can be done to best honor the day.” Luckett added that she would like there to be more discussion on African American history as a whole.
Blackburn continued the tradition of giving the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership award to a student who exemplified the qualities of the honor’s namesake. Senior sports management major Christopher Stone was presented the award this year.