Ball State University is partnering with Muncie to promote cultural unity through Monday's Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration and other Unity Week events.
This is the second time Ball State and Muncie have collaborated on the holiday celebration. The theme is "Embracing the Dream in the Spirit of Unity."
"It says that Ball State believes in and values the significance of the Muncie community as a nurturing element in the lives of students, staff and faculty," Derick Virgil, director of Ball State's Multicultural Center, said. Virgil said the collaboration also shows the significance of Ball State's role in the local community.
Monday's celebration begins with a free breakfast at 7 a.m. in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center's Cardinal Hall. Sandra D. Leek, executive director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, is the keynote speaker, and President Jo Ann Gora will also speak during the breakfast, Virgil said.
The Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration includes a candlelight march beginning at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall and ending at Christ Temple Church, 654 N. Jefferson St. A city-wide church celebration at 7 p.m. will feature Pastor P. David Saunders from Chicago.
"(This) can also be a time of remembrance for all who have lost their lives while innocent, from victims of the twin towers, war victims and even victims of the tsunami," Virgil said. "King stood for acknowledging that life is sacred, regardless of the culture it is birthed from."
Clayborne Carson, historian, political theorist and director of the King Papers Project, will present the Multicultural Center's keynote address "Keeping the Dream Alive" at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Emens Auditorium. Carson has produced several scholarly publications focusing on black protest movements following World War II and served as senior advisor of the award-winning public television series "Eyes on the Prize."
On Wednesday, Ball State's Asian-American Student Association, Black Student Association, Latino Student Union and Spectrum will present the second annual Chamber of Hatred at 7 p.m. in the Ballroom. The chamber, like last year's, will feature skits dealing with discrimination.
"It showed people things that occur everyday on campus and things that occur in the community and things that people don't normally think about, and that's what we're hoping to do with this one," sophomore Zac Davis, Spectrum president, said.
On Thursday, a movie night featuring clips from "American History X," "White Men's Burden" and "Higher Learning" and a discussion on diversity will be held from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Cardinal Hall A. Friday's blood drive in the Student Center Multipurpose Room from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. will help support Ball Memorial Hospital's Blood Bank, senior Dujuanna London, Unity Week chair, said.
Unity Week will end with Ball State's Annual Miss Unity Scholarship Pageant at 3 p.m. Saturday.
"I really want our campus to venture out of their individual shells and get a clue about other things in life and the first step is to step into someone else's shoes," London said. "Unity Week is a perfect time for such a venture."
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