Many students use Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday as an excuse to party harder while watching football games on Sunday, but some students were honored for their efforts to live out this civil rights activist’s mission during a multi-day celebration.
During the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Vision Awards Dinner, Peter Otoki ’08 and Frank Fraioli ’08 were recognized for their “tremendous contributions to our community,” said Larri Mazon, director of Multicultural Relations.
Fraioli said the award was a great honor.
“I see Martin Luther King Jr. as an icon and a role model. He inspires me to continue to work for the cause of equality,” he said. “I think I was chosen because people have responded positively to my views on equality and my actions to forward the cause.”
The dinner, as well as multiple other events that occurred last week, helped commemorate the legendary civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr.
“The celebration is important because it offers a time for us to reflect on how far we’ve come but also how far we have to go,” said Meredith Marquez, assistant director of Multicultural Relations.
Marquez said she hopes students recognize that they can make a difference with their friends right here at Fairfield University. Since Fraioli and Otoki were recognized for their efforts, other students may be inspired to do the same.
“Everyone has something to contribute,” said Marquez.
Although students traditionally take advantage of the long weekend to go home, Marquez said that students played an integral role in planning the celebratory events.
An Interfaith Service at the Egan Chapel on Wednesday kicked off the events. This was followed by a Peace Festival at 7 p.m., during which the Barone Campus Center lower level was transformed into a jazz club atmosphere with dim lights, food and beverages, and the all-female jazz ensemble Sage.
Chrystie Cruz ’07, a member of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observance committee, said she was pleased with the outcome of the Peace Festival, crediting the event’s success to an increase in communication among students.
Mazon also said the turnout was a success. However, he said that next year he hopes to see the lower level of the Barone Campus Center overflowing during the Peace Festival.
Only 50-75 people were in attendance, a number that he found surprisingly sparse. The service is one area that will be closely looked at in regards to next year’s planning, he said.
According to Melissa Quan, a member of the Interfaith Service Committee and assistant director for Faith and Public Life and the Office of Service Learning, more students attended last year’s service.
“Next year we’ll focus more on getting the word out with a more personal invite to students,” she said.
Afternoon classes were cancelled Thursday so that students and faculty alike could attend the Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation at the Quick Center. The convocation featured speaker Reverend J-Glenn Murray, S.J.
“[He was] possibly one of the best speakers I’ve ever heard,” said Chris Staysniak ’10. “If that speech didn’t inspire people, I don’t know what would.”
“It is nice to recognize Monday [Martin Luther King Jr. Day] by not having class,” said Shelby Mayor ’09, although she said that she and many other students see Thursday’s convocation as the real recognition.
As one of the executive board leaders of Students for Social Justice, Staysniak said he understands the importance of recognizing Martin Luther King Jr.
“I think the best part was not having classes because professors had to explain why,” said Staysniak, stressing the importance of recognizing that the fight for social justice is never done.
About 650 people attended the convocation at the Quick Center, which has a capacity of about 750, according to Mazon.
The Vision Awards Dinner followed the convocation and was considered a success.
Requests for six additional tables at the Vision Awards Dinner had to be turned down due to lack of space.
Mazon said he would place this year’s celebration among the top three ever held at Fairfield.
Fraioli said: “I see Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision as an extraordinary commitment to furthering the cause of equality. He gave his heart, soul, and ultimately, his life for that cause.”
“I don’t think anybody can reflect Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision in a better way than Martin Luther King Jr. himself,” Fraioli added. “The best myself, or anyone else, can do is to build upon the foundation that Martin Luther King Jr. built.”
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