Finlandia, Michigan Tech to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 20

Poster courtesy Michigan Tech University Center for Diversity and Inclusion.

HANCOCK, HOUGHTON -- Students, faculty and staffs at both Finlandia and Michigan Tech universities will honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 20, with a variety of community service and other activities.

Finlandia students offer community service on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 20, students and staff at Finlandia University take a break from classes and give their energy to the local community. To pay tribute to the man that changed the trajectory of civil rights in the United States, the annual Finlandia MLK Day of Service puts the normal university day on hold so that FinnU students, staff, alumni, and friends of the university can make their little bit of difference through small acts of kindness.

Providing manual labor such as shoveling snow at Finlandia and processing firewood at Little Brothers, volunteering for St.Vincent De Paul Thrift Store or the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, and reading to children in local schools are some of the activities that will give students the opportunity to involve themselves in the local community.

"Whether it’s socializing with the elderly, helping others prepare for the long winter months, or reading to small children, it’s wonderful to see our small Finlandia community make such an impact on our U.P. communities," said Finlandia Director of Residence Life Leann Fogle.

Fogle emphasized the impact that community service has on both the organization and student participants.

"We have had such a positive reaction from our students," said Fogle. "They come back from their service site excited, energized and happy they were able to help someone else. We have even had students interested in creating relationships with the sites so they can go back again."

In addition Finlandia will show the film When We Were Kings at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 20 in Wargelin 303.

Michigan Tech to observe MLK Day with school visits, Annual Banquet

Once again this year, Michigan Tech students will visit local elementary schools to read to students about the life and legacy of Dr. King. On Monday morning students will visit Barkell Elementary (Hancock) and T.R. Davis Elementary (Dollar Bay). That afternoon students will read to children at Houghton Elementary.

The 31st Annual MLK Banquet, hosted by Michigan Tech's Center for Diversity and Inclusion, will take place in the Memorial Union Ballroom Monday evening, Jan 20.

The evening's keynote speaker will be former Michigan Tech student LaShana Lewis. A systems engineer at MasterCard, Lewis has been working in the diversity space for more than 20 years. She is CEO of L.M. Lewis Consulting, a company that aims to make companies more diverse through assistance with recruitment, hiring and retention best practices.

Entertainment will be provided by a jazz band and singer David Brown.

Updated: Michigan Tech, NMU, Finlandia to commemorate Martin Luther King Day with special events

Michigan Tech University will commemorate Martin Luther King Day on Monday, Jan. 18, with a banquet and readings in local schools. Northern Michigan University will honor King with a March for Equality, presentations and service projects. Finlandia students will volunteer for community service. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech Center for Diversity and Inclusion)

HOUGHTON, MARQUETTE --  While university classes are cancelled for Martin Luther King Day -- the federal holiday marking King’s birthday -- on Monday, Jan. 18, Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan universities will hold community events, including guest speakers, honoring the late civil rights leader. Finlandia students will volunteer for community service and attend an educational panel.

Michigan Tech to sponsor school readings, MLK Banquet

During the school day (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) on Monday, Jan. 18, Michigan Tech students, faculty, staff and community members will read books about the life and legacy of Dr. King to local school children. Houghton Elementary, Barkell Elemetary (Hancock) and TR Davis Elementary (Dollar Bay) are participating. 

Michigan Tech's 27th Annual MLK Banquet will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ball Room. The event, open to the public with free reservations, features a buffet dinner, musical performances from Tech's Momentum Jazz band, spoken word poetry and a keynote address from William P. Jones, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the books The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights and The Tribe of Black Ulysses: African American Lumber Workers in the Jim Crow South.
 
Following the banquet, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the MUB Ballroom, there will be "Interfaith Insights and Prayers for a Beloved Community." The public is invited to join a group reading of different interfaith passages of peace. The event is held by the Cooperative Campus Ministry.

Tickets for the banquet are free and available by making an online reservation here.

NMU to mark MLK Day with March for Equality, service projects, more ...

At Northern Michigan University (NMU) in Marquette on Monday, Jan. 18,  an MLK March for Equality will begin at noon at the Payne/Halverson lobby and proceed to the Peter White Lounge of the University Center, where there will be food and speakers addressing race and diversity. Following the presentations, participants will engage in service projects, including book readings at the U.P. Children’s Museum and volunteering at the Salvation Army. In the Peter White Lounge, some will make blankets and knitted items that will be distributed to community organizations such as the Women’s Center, Harbor House and Room at the Inn. Others will make cards for veterans.

Author and motivational speaker Antoine Moss, known as the "Man of Inspiration," will deliver the keynote presentation at NMU at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21, in the Cadillac/Brule Rooms of the University Center. Admission is free. Moss will address "Three Steps to Becoming Unstoppable with Your Purpose and Mission in Life." He will combine his passion and personal stories with the dreams and goals set forth by Martin Luther King Jr. Moss is the author of Learn to Intern CEO Style, based on his professional experience from internships with NASA, the FBI and the U.S. Congress. More recently, he partnered with Les Brown, George Fraser and other influential leaders to write an Amazon No. 1 bestseller, Mission Unstoppable: Extraordinary Stories of Failure’s Blessings.

NMU’s 20th annual Drag Show will culminate the week of equality at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 22, in Vandament Arena. Admission is free for NMU students and $5 for others. There is no reserved seating. NMU’s revitalized student group, OUTlook, will host the event.

For more information, contact the NMU Multicultural Education and Resource Center at 906-227-1554, or the NMU Volunteer Center at 906-227-2466.

Update: Finlandia students to offer community service on MLK Day

On Monday, Jan. 18, Finlandia University students will not have classes; but Finlandia student volunteers will be conducting community service at churches, non-profits, and schools in Hancock, Houghton, Chassell and Calumet. Tasks range from chopping wood for local elders to hanging elementary student art displays.

After an 11 a.m. brunch in the Finlandia Café, at noon students will board buses that will take them to various community service sites. They will return to campus for a snack in the Finnish American Heritage Center at 2:45 p.m., followed at 3 p.m. by an educational panel featuring six Finlandia faculty members who will examine the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr., through history, philosophy, religion, art, and literature.

Michigan Tech observes Martin Luther King Day today

From Tech Today
Posted Jan. 19, 2015

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech and its Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) will observe Martin Luther King Day today, with the third annual MLK Day of Service, an MLK Banquet and an interfaith worship service and candlelight vigil.

Approximately 40 student volunteers will visit Houghton Elementary School and Barkell Elementary School in Hancock, where they will read books to the children about Martin Luther King's life. They will be at the schools between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

The MLK Banquet is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Tickets are free but must be picked up in advance from CDI. The keynote banquet speaker is Daymond Glenn, vice president for community life, chief diversity officer and assistant professor of urban studies at Warner Pacific College. A student, Nathan Shaiyen, will sing and a student jazz group will perform.

Immediately following the banquet, the Cooperative Campus Ministry will host an interfaith worship service with students from various faith backgrounds sharing insights about their faith as it relates to Martin Luther King and peace. A candlelight vigil will follow the service.