Syracuse University is honoring Martin Luther King Jr. with a dinner and speech in the Carrier Dome Sunday at 5 p.m.

Syracuse University is honoring Martin Luther King Jr. with a dinner and speech in the Carrier Dome Sunday at 5 p.m.

This year marks the 25th anniversary that the university has honored King with a dinner and address. The event will begin with a keynote address by Gwen Ifill, senior correspondent for ‘The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.’

The theme of this year’s address is ‘Continuing the Journey: Where Do We Go From Here?’ said Ginny Yerdon, administrative assistant and special events coordinator at Hendricks Chapel.

‘It was started out to be something that both the university and the community could come together (for) to learn more about Martin Luther King and the way he lived his life and the history about African-Americans,’ Yerdon said. ‘It’s just a way to share information and have someone speak (who) is empowering and enlightening and someone (who) would get the crowd interested.’

Student interest in purchasing tickets for the address is higher than it has been in nine years, said Pam Peter, assistant director of residence life. All student tickets for the dinner are sold-out, she said, but students can still attend the address without dinner tickets.

Peter said she thinks the increased interest is due to Ifill’s presence and a new method of ticket sales. In the past, student tickets for the dinner went on sale in November, before students knew what their schedules would look like in January. Since many students figure out their schedule after returning from Winter Break, this year’s tickets began selling the first week of classes. In the past, tickets were on sale in November, she said.

‘Dream Out Loud’ is the theme of this year’s Dream Week, taking place next week. Dream Week will occur a week after the official holiday because classes did not begin until Jan. 19, said Michelle Singletary, assistant director in the Office of Residence Life.

‘We chose ‘Dream Out Loud’ because we want to make the point that sometimes your dreams can come true, so make sure you dream out loud so others can hear you and help make that dream come true,’ Singletary said.

Both members of the campus community and the Syracuse community have a chance to honor King in Dream Week’s various events.

Thea St. Omer, an adjunct instructor in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, will present her documentary based on racial slurs in Maxwell Auditorium at 7 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a Q-and-A period.

The documentary fits in with the week’s theme because the goal is for everyone to understand that the word should never be used, Singletary said.

‘For us to have this documentary, to watch it together as a community and to talk about it afterward, hopefully the dream is that we all end up on the same page that this word should not be used,’ she said.

Verbal Blend, a poetry program in the Office of Multicultural Affairs open to students and Syracuse residents, will present a poetry reading on Jan. 28 in honor of King. Each member will perform his or her own poems.

‘It will be a diverse flow of poems. (The performers are) coming in with their own styles and poems,’ said Cedric Bolton, program coordinator in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. ‘We really want the students to focus in on what King was about, but we also want them to bring their own voices.’

Dream Week will also involve a candlelight vigil on the steps of Hendricks Chapel Monday, an art showcase Tuesday with work from local elementary students, a day of service in the Schine Student Center and a performance showcase Jan. 29.

kronayne@syr.edu

Published on January 20, 2010 at 12:00 pm