by Caleb Quimby
Students and citizens celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day by attending the second annual celebration of the civil rights movement at Colorado Mesa University in the university center ballroom.
The event had several speakers who spoke about their past in fighting racial issues and getting to where they are now. There was also live music from members of the community.
The event was put on to show diversity from the school and Mesa County. Members from the Grand Valley also read quotes from King.
David Combs, a chairman of CMU’s Cultural Diversity Committee, helped put the event together. He knew this was an important time to hold an event that showcased what King accomplished.
“We know that CMU is becoming a focal point of the community,” Combs said. “Thus, our rationale at the community and, with that being said, you have such a variety of individuals in the student population.”
There were several students that talked about their experiences and how they ended up at CMU. Wonder Wachara, a CMU student, spoke about her background living in Mesa County.
“I have lived here in the Grand Valley for three years now and have a lot of experiences which would be valuable to express to the community,” Wachara said.
For some, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a holiday to show others how one person can make a difference. One of those is Ky Oday, Coordinator of Student Diversity, who grew up in the Grand Valley and has celebrated the holiday at the university since he was a child.
“When I was young, 10 to 11 years old, we would come here and celebrate King day,” Oday said. “Now that I’m a lot older than that, I help out with planning and whatever I can do to be a part of it. So that the current community has somewhere to go to celebrate MLK.”
Bob Lang, director of diversity, advocacy and health on campus, has been involved for the past two years, and he was happy to see a better turnout than last year’s event.
“I think it’s important to honor the contribution that Martin Luther King Jr. had not only to race relationships in the US, but also to social injustices and in a sense of a better compensations of the value of compassion,” Lang said.
The event was filled with speeches with the hope that next year’s turnout will have even more members of the Grand Valley in attendance.
