Students, faculty and alumni braced below-freezing temperatures to participate in Ferris’ annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march around campus.
The Office of Multicultural Student Services has planned the march every year for over 30 years. This year’s march had over 50 participants and picked up participants along the route. The march took place on Tuesday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. at the Interdisciplinary Resource Center.
President Bill Pink participated in his first MLK march this year. He believes that the purpose of the week of marching is to “remember” and show “appreciation” for what has been overcome.
“We’re going to march today in peace,” Pink said. “We are going to be able to march without dogs coming at us, without them barking at us, biting at us. We are going to be able to march without people spraying water at us, without yelling obscenities at us. That, to me, is why we have to do these kinds of events.”
This year was Ferris State’s first time recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday and was also the first time that the university dedicated the week to MLK events rather than just one day.
“These MLK events mean a lot from the university standpoint to make sure that we are commemorating and remembering the life and legacy and the period of Dr. King,” Pink said. “It is so instrumental to remember that this time in history wasn’t easy and that he was doing things that were not easy.”
Similarly to Pink, OMSS director Michael Hopson also participated in his first MLK march this year. He believes that marching allows students to connect and get a feel of what it was like to be a part of the civil rights movement.
“We saw a really strong turnout,” Hopson said. “The march is offering opportunities for people to be activists and to be a part of the bigger picture, the bigger movement.”
Health administration and public health senior Autumne Peoples is a student manager at the OMSS, and this was her fourth time participating in the march. Peoples was expecting fewer people to participate because of the weather, she was happy to see the turnout.
“We had a great turnout for both the march and the speaker,” Peoples said. “To see so many of my peers brace the cold for the march was great.”
Criminal justice freshman Kiera Brown participated in the march for the first time. Despite the weather conditions, she believes it was important to participate because of the history behind it.
Hopson believes that the march radiates the power of togetherness that reinstates the community. For him, marching for MLK and celebrating the holiday helps him feel connected to the past.