2012: Defying the Distance

Participants: Denison faculty, staff, and students

Dates: Saturday, January 21, 2012 (1 pm) - Monday, January 23, 2012 (11 am)

If you drew on your shared knowledge, creativity, and energy, how much could you, as Denisonians, accomplish to address local needs? Inspired by Dr. King's legacy of service, all members of the campus community—students, faculty, staff, and friends of the university—are invited to rise to the challenge of finding out.

We hope you take this opportunity to engage with the theme of Community Empowerment and Civic Engagement in honoring the memory of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Service Challenge Process

On Saturday, January 21st, pre-registered volunteers will be organized into teams, and each team will be presented with a task to complete. The Denisonians for Social Change will give a brief presentation to kick off the event at 1 pm on the 21st in the Burton Morgan Lecture Hall, after which the challenges will be delegated. Teams will have from that point on Saturday until noon on Monday, January 23rd (no classes), to complete the task. Additionally, special projects have been designed to accommodate any students going through sorority recruitment.

Each team's task will remain a secret until it is presented to the team on Saturday. You might be asked to develop a lesson plan on civil rights to teach a high school class on Monday morning, promote voter awareness and registration in the local community, or collect blankets for an organization such as the Salvation Army. Whatever the task, it will draw on the unique talents and skills of all group members, while requiring that you, in the words of Dr. King, "use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."

After you’ve completed your service challenge, you are invited and encouraged to take part in a Teach-in session during which you will be able to reflect with others on the meaning of what you did, what you learned about others, and whether any change has come about because of your work.

Sponsors: 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, the John W. Alford Center for Service-Learning, and the Denison Community Association (DCA)

Participants: Denison faculty, staff, and students; Granville and area communities (except for the 2012 Service Challenge)

Date: Monday, January 23, 2012

The Day of Learning is comprised of a series of events in celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

• Service Challenge
• Community Dialogue Luncheon
• Convocation
• Teach-Ins
• Library Reception

Sponsor: 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee

Participants: Faculty, staff, students, and Granville and area communities

Exhibit Dates: Monday, January 23, 2012 - Thursday, February 2, 2012

"Opening" Reception: Thursday, January 26, 2012

Reception Time: 4:30 pm

Location: Burton Morgan Atrium Lobby

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work as minister, scholar and activist seems to follow a trajectory that goes from a focus on civil rights to a focus on human rights. As an activist he began to make connections between between local and international concerns. In other words, he shifted his rights-speak from a focus on justice for "citizens" to justice for "humans."

During the summer of 2011, Denison students (Michelle Agunloye ‘14, Raquel Fuentes ‘14, Michaela Grenier ‘14, Michael Ivy ‘13) participated in the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA)’s “Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences” off-campus study program. They learned not only about the history of the Civil Rights movement but about contemporary resonances of that movement in the South and throughout the United States. Through dialogue, lectures, readings and documentaries, these students engaged with their role in keeping this movement alive. The group worked with Dr. Jack Shuler, Assistant Professor of English, on a directed study to help them keep thinking about their summer experience, as well as imagine ways to share that experience with others. In order to meet this end, the students have created an exhibit entitled: “Civil Rights. Human Rights. Our Rights.” The exhibit will explore their understanding of the ongoing human rights struggles in the United States. The group hopes to raise awareness about these issues, which is the first step toward defying that distance. They are attempting to make these issues come alive for people and make them seem less distant from life here “on the hill.”

Sponsors: 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, and Denisonians for Social Change

Participants: Faculty, staff and students

Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Time: 9:00 pm

Location: The Bandersnatch

Celebrate this leap year with the Denison community as we share our understanding of this year's MLK theme through artistic expression. Through visual art, spoken word, song, dance or acting, we invite you to share in the ever-changing definition of what it really means to actually defy the distance and be in solidarity with the disinherited. All students, faculty and staff, are invited to attend and actively participate in this year's showcase. If you already know how you would like to contribute to this experience, please contact Mark Anthony Arceno at arcenom@denison.edu to be added to the program schedule. Otherwise, join us and come up to the stage as the spirit moves you!

Sponsors: 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, and Multi-Cultural Epistemology

Participants: Faculty, staff, students, and Granville and area communities

Dates: Thursday, March 22, 2012 & Friday, March 23, 2012

Time: 8:00 pm

Don't miss this triple-billed show of virtuosic dancing, showcasing the African American Dance Ensemble, Berry & Nance Dance Project, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in a concert presenting a spectrum of dance rooted in African cultures, spanning the traditional through the contemporary. 

Participants: Denison faculty, staff, and students

Date: Friday, April 27, 2012

Location: Welsh Hills Room

Time: 4:00 pm

Celebrate the conclusion of the 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. semester-long celebration with presentations by the students of the Black Studies 246.03 course named after this year's theme. This one-credit course meets every Friday to learn and discuss the social, cultural, political, and economic forces that underlie the construction of disinherited groups, inclusive of class, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and sexual orientation.  Throughout the semester, the class studies the philosophy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a theoretical and practical tool for social transformation. In addition to this unique class, students participate in a community service and cultural exploration trip to Washington, D.C.

"In His Spirit: A Multifaith Tribute to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.": In addition, and as we near the conclusion of our semester-long celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we invite you to join us for a multifaith and multicultural program in Dr. King's honor. Bringing together a variety of lived experiences, we will gather as a community of the disinherited, the privileged and everyone in-between, as we remind ourselves and each other of Dr. King’s bold non-violent stance for love, justice, and peace in the face of manifold human pain, suffering and oppression. We hope you will walk with us as we pay tribute to a living movement of many beliefs and political persuasions, as we march in solidarity toward freedom for people around the world.

Sponsor: 2012 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee