The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration speaker was canceled less than a week before the event was set.
Marc Lamont Hill was set to speak on “The War on Youth” at Pruis Hall at 7:30 on Tuesday but Hill canceled on Jan. 12 due to a scheduling conflict.
“I am under contract with BET [Black Entertainment Television] to participate in their coverage of major political events," Hill said. "They notified me earlier this week that we were covering the President's State of the Union address and that they wanted me to be the host."
Hill said he canceled with great regret, and did not expect the scheduling conflict.
“The date of the [State of the Union] address changes from year to year so there's no way to predict ahead of time when it will be," Hill said. "Historically, it has come later in the month or, even more often, in February. This is why I felt comfortable booking the event at BSU."
Ro-Ann Royer Engle, director of the Multicultural Center, said Hill was chosen because of his ability to relay a point through speech, which was one of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s talents.
“One of [the] greatest gifts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is as an orator," Engle said. "He took great pride in using that gift to inspire, encourage, and challenge Americans into change. It just makes sense that celebrating his life and who [he] is would include a speaker."
Engle said the last minute cancellation will keep a replacement event from happening. Still, she said Unity Week will be successful.
“The good news is the MLK Speaker is just one of the multiple events that is part of Unity Week," Engle said. "Canceling it was disappointing, but Unity Week has a variety of other events students can attend and learn from."
Kevin Willis, freshman exercise science major, said he was disappointed.
“There were posters everywhere, so many emails were sent out," Willis said. "It seemed like it was something the entire school, including myself, was looking forward to."
Hill said he would be happy to reschedule the event if the university asked.
When asked if the Multicultural Center would invite Hill back at a later time, Engle said the university has not made any decisions about rescheduling Hill's speech.
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