Forty-nine years after Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about his dream, Ball State will be hosting a week of events in his honor.
This year's Unity Week — "A Uniquely American Dream" — will feature several events, including a hunger banquet, a pageant and a "Family Feud"-type game.
All events are free and open to the public and will take place from Monday to Jan. 22.
The Multicultural Student Organizations — the Asian American Association, the Black Student Association, the Latino Student Union and Spectrum — come together to form a committee of five people who are in charge of the week.
Terri Roberts, assistant director of student life, said the Unity Pageant and the Game of Unity Feud are events that are consistent every year.
Game of Unity Feud will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 19 in the Fine Arts Building Room 217. The Unity Pageant will be at 6 p.m. Jan. 21 in Pruis Hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
When planning the week, Roberts said she encouraged the committee to "go outside the box in what they were thinking about doing."
The Unity Ball and Art Gala will be at 7 p.m. Jan. 20 in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Ballroom. Roberts said the event is "a semi-formal dance, basically," which also features an art competition. The Unity Week committee has solicited art pieces from various students, which are being judged this week. They will then be displayed at the ball.
"A lot of times, we don't really celebrate art and the impact it has on unifying people," Roberts said. "And we have some really interesting art pieces."
Autumn Ricketts is a member of the Black Student Association and is also the chair for the Unity Pageant.
Ricketts said she thinks Unity Week is important for all students, but especially for those who are not as involved on campus.
"It's just a time that depicts different ethnic backgrounds and shows how we relate to each other more than we realize," she said.
Mike Rivera, a member of the Latino Student Union, is in charge of the "Timeless" event. Timeless tours will be at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday in the Tally. Students will be able to visit several rooms and learn about various forms of oppression in different eras.
Rivera said he thinks it is important for students to get involved in Unity Week because of all the "bad that's going on in the world," notably the people who are bullied for being gay or lesbian.
"Don't worry about who someone sleeps with, or what color their skin is," he said. "Just appreciate everyone's differences and try to live more cohesively together."
Other events during the week will include a MLK Unity March at 4 p.m. Monday. It will begin at the Multicultural Center. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, MLK Jr. speaker Michelle Bernard will be at Pruis Hall. The hunger banquet will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Student Center Forum Room.
There will also be a book drive during the week. Students can bring any old or used books to the Office of Student Life in the Student Center Room 133. A plaque will be awarded to the group with the largest donation. The groups include the General Student Organization, Greek Life and the Big 4 (the Asian American Association, the Black Student Association, the Latino Student Union and Spectrum). Individuals also are encouraged to donate.
Donated childrens' books will be taken to the Roy C. Buley Community Center, Roberts said. The rest of the books will go to Better World Books to be repurposed.
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