SENIOR’S LAST SOLO
Allison WIlber, as senior music major, performed her final solo recital Sunday as part of the Senior Recital series for music majors.
WOMEN FALL TO RACERS
Eastern’s women’s basketball team was overcome by Murray State 68-58 Monday.
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D ai ly Eastern News WWW.DAILYEASTERNNEWS.COM
THE
“TELL THE TRUTH AND DON’T BE AFRAID”
VOL.97 | ISSUE 85
TUESDAY, January 22, 2013
MAR TIN LUTHER KING JR DAY
MLK Jr.’s memory honored with vigil By Bob Galuski Entertainment Editor
L
aughter, songs and high spirits were in the air as Eastern and Charleston community members marched across campus to commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Those participating in the vigil march Monday were given candles to hold as they made their way from Thomas Hall to the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. Vice president of Zeta Nu, David Sims, said the candles were donated by the Newman Catholic Center. Along the way, the marchers joined in songs such as “We Shall Overcome,” giving the memorial a feel reminiscent to the Civil Rights activist’s own march in 1963. Brandy Woods, a senior Africana studies major, said this was her first time attending the annual vigil and that she was there to honor King’s memory. “He paved the way for so AfricanAmericans, like myself, could participate in events like this,” she said. “He may be gone, but his efforts are not forgotten.” Conversely, Anthony Boyd, a senior theatre arts major, said he comes to the vigil every year. “I love celebrating and representing his dream and legacy,” Boyd said. While marchers were waiting for the service to begin, they were encouraged to sign a “dream board” the fraternity members had put on display. The board was split into two sections, a dream and a nightmare section. “The dream side is for your goals and aspirations, and the nightmare one is for any fears you might have,” Sims said. “The point is that your dreams are greater than your nightmares.” Asia Watt, a freshman elementary
education major, said she was inspired to attend the march because it was relevant to her life. “Think about it, I couldn’t attend a four-year university if not for people like Martin Luther King Jr.,” she said. Tony Alozie, a senior biological sciences major, said he came to show respect for the work King contributed to American society. “He was a profound leader who gave a lot of people a great opportunity,” he said. The official name of the event was “Dreaming of a Nightmare: Wake Up.” David Mitchell, a senior communication studies major, was in charge of the theme of this year’s vigil and said he wanted to do something different for 2013. “Last year’s theme was ‘Dirty Dream,’ so we wanted to go a different direction,” he said. “This is representative of Martin Luther King’s dream today being altered.” Putting together the entire vigil plus the ceremony required a lot of work, Sims said. “I’m the vice president, so my biggest duty was just overseeing, making sure everything got done,” he said. “We had to rent out Thomas for the meeting place and the Grand Ballroom for our activities. Other things too, like reaching out to brothers and making sure the programs were made, all of that went into this.” Immediately following the walk, participants were asked to come to the Grand Ballroom of the Union to watch performances in honor of King. Darius Francis, a senior communication studies major, gave one of the opening acts, a re-enactment of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
“It’s my way to give back and show my gratitude for him,” Francis said. A memorial video was also shown, displaying the struggle for civil rights King faced during his time as an activist. Before the candlelit vigil across campus, students were also honoring King’s memory through volunteer work around Eastern and Charleston. Rachel Fisher, director of student community service, said there were approximately 250 students signed up for the service day. “This is the fourth year we’ve had it, and every year the numbers grow,” she said. “I’m very happy and thankful for the numbers we had today.” She also added that there would be about 200 more service opportunities for students throughout the semester. One of the reasons attributed to the higher turn out, Fisher said, was the fact that there were nine projects to choose from – higher than any other year. “We had projects to benefit orphanages, the Big Brother and Big Sister organization, and local senior citizens,” Fisher said. The project with the most students participating, she said, came at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, where volunteers were able to make teddy bears for the pediatric section. “This was a great way to start a new year, a great way to just kick off the semester,” Fisher said. Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or rggaluski@eiu.edu.
PHOTOS BY JACOB SALMICH | THE DAILY EASTERN NE WS
Junior biology major Carolyn Boyd has a friend light her candle at the Martin Luther King Jr. candle light vigil on Monday at Thomas Hall. This was Boyd’s first time attending the event. The event has taken place for the last 26 years at Eastern.
Members of the Zeta Nu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity lead a candle lit march on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. from Thomas Hall to the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. The annual event was attended by students as well as members of the community.
C AMPUS ISSUES | TOBACCO-FREE
Student Senate awaits student opinions on tobacco By Samantha McDaniel Student Governance Editor
PHOTO ILLUSTR ATION BY K ATIE SMITH
The Student Senate members have an open forum to discuss the topic of a tobacco-free campus with students and faculty before writing a resolution on their decision. The open forum to discuss the proposal will take place at 7 p.m. Feb. 20 in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union. Student Senate Speaker Mitch Gurick, a sophomore business major, said the Student Senate members want to know what the campus community thinks about the tobacco-free cam-
pus proposal before they draft a resolution that will state their opinion on the matter. Student Body President Kaci Abolt, a senior communication studies major, said the first step the Student Senate members will take is the forum. She said the senate members will also look at the results from the recent survey sent out to students about a tobacco-free campus. “Obviously we are not going to write anything until we get a wide variety of student opinions,” Abolt said. “I know there are a lot of opinions on this issue going both ways.”
The forum is open to anyone because a proposal like the tobacco-free campus will affect everyone from students to faculty, Gurick said. “It’s going to be a dialogue between all the different groups, and I believe the Tobacco Coalition will do a short presentation,” he said. The Tobacco Coalition presented to the Faculty Senate studies that show how other state universities are going smoke- or tobacco-free. Gurick said if the coalition does present, they will talk about what the proposal is and what they want to see come from it. TOBACCO, page 5