Though Monday marked the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, at Bowdoin, classes continued as usual. However, the fact that classes were in session did not stop faculty and students from reflecting on King's legacy, which has a special connection to Bowdoin.
On May 6, 1964, King spoke to a crowd of 1,100 people at First Parish Church next to the College. King was originally scheduled to speak in Pickard Theater, but the speaker was moved to the church because a large turnout was expected.
According to Senior Associate Dean of Student Affairs Margaret Hazlett, the reason classes take place on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a matter of scheduling. Classes are only in session on Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day every two out of seven years. For the other five years, the holiday occurs during Winter Break, and therefore students "can recognize the holiday in any way they want," Hazlett said.
Holding classes on MLK Day is consistent with college protocol for other national holidays that occur throughout the academic year; Bowdoin often schedules classes on holidays such as Labor Day and Presidents' Day.
"Faculty have the option of addressing those holidays in their lectures," Hazlett said. She added that in the 10 years she has been at Bowdoin, she has heard of several instances when professors chose to lecture on Dr. King or the Civil Rights Movement on MLK Day.
Hazlett also said that when MLK Day falls on a day when classes are scheduled, the College makes a concerted effort to hold events to honor the holiday.
This year, in addition to a screening of "Eyes on the Prize," a PBS documentary about the Civil Rights Movement, and "A Children's Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.," Associate Professor of History Patrick Rael presented a lecture, "Reel Memories," in Kanbar Auditorium on Monday. In his talk, Professor Rael discussed the Civil Rights Movement and its depiction in film, emphasizing both the importance of civil rights films as well as their shortcomings.
By watching these films, Rael said, "everyone can feel included without actually doing anything." While they raise awareness, Rael emphasized the need to "honor the ongoing struggle [for] civil rights."
Rael argued that MLK Day should act as a call to action for a society that has let the Civil Rights Movement fall into a memory.
"We have, as a society, gotten good at turning the King holiday into a warm and fuzzy moment, rather than an opportunity to courageously confront what the movement sought to change?the onging realities of pervasive inequality and injustice in this nation."
Hazlett also paralleled King's fight for equality with the College's new financial aid initiative to convert all loans into grants for current and new students, beginning in the fall of 2008 (See story, page 1).
"The holiday is timely with the recent decision on financial aid. Access to education and access regardless of differences is important," Hazlett said.
"At Bowdoin our challenge in considering the King legacy is to think about how we here participate in ongoing structures of inequality. This is a major issue at an institution that has always been elite, and that has struggled to commit itself to diversity in all its forms," Rael said.
According to Rael, making Bowdoin an institution that not only preaches equality requires more than just bringing in diverse students.
"If we want to honor the movement we must embrace its radical, confrontational spirit. In this day and age, that is a real challenge," Rael said.