News Reporter, Special Sections Editor
CMU opened its doors to the community in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 15, hosting about 70 attendees for a luncheon in the University Ballroom organized by the Black Student Alliance (BSA). It was the most well-attended MLK event in 10 years at CMU, according to Director of Student Diversity, Advocacy and Health Danny Sandoval.
“I don’t think that we have anything as more tied to the actual community than this event,” Sandoval said. “I think it went off really well.”
The BSA worked closely with Sandoval in planning the luncheon that commemorated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. with a screening of his 1967 televised appearance on The Merv Griffin Show as well as a vocal performance of “The Black National Anthem” by members of Grand Junction’s black community.
A big addition to this year’s proceedings was the inaugural presentation of the Dream Award, which recognizes an African-American middle or high school student who has demonstrated courage in the face of adversity, according to Sandoval. River Adams, a student at Grand Junction High School, was not present to receive the award.
Highlighting the program for the luncheon were the two guest speakers, CMU alumnus Ky Oday and Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs and Director of Distance Education Dr. Gillian McKnight-Tutein. Both spoke of the lasting impact of Martin Luther King Jr., but it was Tutein’s personal story of triumph in the face of innumerable hardships that inspired the most applause.
When Sandoval approached her about speaking a couple weeks prior to Monday’s event, Tutein was unsure at first.
“Not everyone likes to speak publicly, so I hesitated for just a second to think, ‘What could I offer?’ That’s always the question, ‘Do you have anything of value to offer?’” Tutein said. “I wasn’t alive during Dr. King. We all went to school, we learned what he did for us. But I felt like I did. I felt like I lived his legacy.”
The institution of the Dream Award reflects the embodiment of role models like Martin Luther King Jr., the importance of which Tutein and Sandoval both deeply acknowledge.
“It’s by sharing those stories that you let people know, ‘It’s not just me. Honey, there’s a lot of us out there.’ But if we don’t speak up, they don’t know that, they don’t know,” Tutein said. “So I think it’s important. I think it’s important to have models to go after, and they don’t all have to look alike or have the same life experiences, but I think we find out we’re more common than we give people credit for. Everyone has a story.”
“I think it’s really important to recognize people and to do it publicly,” Sandoval said.
Within the next month, he hopes to present the Dream Award to Adams at Grand Junction High School in front of his peers.
amaeche@mavs.coloradomesa.edu
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