Chancellor Kevin Snider lights the first candle of the “Unity Candle” at the second Unity Day celebration in 2011. The six-year tradition, which honors Martin Luther King Jr., continues Jan. 27, 2015, at Penn State New Kensington.
Community invited to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and
promote respect for all individuals
UPPER BURRELL, Pa. -- Penn State New Kensington, in conjunction with Hightower Scholars Inc., is honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. from 2 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 27, at the campus.
“Celebration of Unity,” which includes a community dinner, is the campus' sixth annual tribute to King’s life. The focus of the commemoration is social justice issues, community advocacy, and respect for all individuals.
“We are promoting unity and peaceful solutions to difficult societal issues through community service, community activism, advocacy for human rights and individuals standing up to eliminate bias and hate in our communities,” said Theresa Bonk, director of student affairs at the campus.
The celebration features readings on nonviolent protests, a musical performance, pot luck dinner and lighting of the unity candle. All events are free to the public.
The campus celebration opens with “Read Out” from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Forum Theatre lobby. Campus and local school students, along with members of the community, will read excerpts from historical events of the civil rights movement.
Classical pianist and vocal artist Nikesha Moore performs musical selections from the civil rights era during the unity dinner. Moore, who also composes and writes songs, has performed locally and internationally in Sydney, Australia. The Westmoreland County Community College student makes her concert debut on Mar. 5, at the Youngwood campus of her college.
The MLK activities continue from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Conference Center. The featured events are a pot luck dinner and lighting of the unity candle by members of the campus, community, local businesses and neighborhood churches.
The event is a part of the campus’ weeklong commemoration of King and his dream of equality among the races. Kicking off the schedule is performing artist Tom Varano at noon on Monday, Jan. 26, in Café 780, the campus cafeteria. Varano will create an illustration of King during the performance.
Highlight of the week is the Community Resource Nonprofit Volunteer and Advocacy Fair that runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 28, in the theatre and main entrance lobbies. Charitable groups will set up booths to talk about the community service opportunities available at the organizations.
Besides the fair, three human rights-related movies -- “Cesar Chavez: An American Hero-Huelga,” “Philadelphia” and “Boys Don’t Cry” -- will be screened throughout the day on Thursday, Jan. 29, in Café 780. In addition, the Student Life office is sponsoring a field trip Thursday for campus students to see the new movie, “Selma.”
The week of activities was developed by the campus Diversity committee -- Bonk, committee chair; Lauren Blum, assistant to the director of student affairs; Natacha Bolufer-Laurentie, instructor in Spanish; Danielle DeStafano, assistant director of enrollment management; Janet Knott, instructor in nursing; Jennifer Marino, assistant director for financial aid; Kim McKean, human resource manager; Mitchel Nickols, consulting and manager trainer at Allegheny Intermediate Unit and campus Advisory Board member; and Yasmin Ray, a student in the Psychology program.
For more information on MLK activities, call 724-334-6062.