MLK conference calls for civic engagement

By Mitchell Peters

In connection with African American People’s History Month, the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Conference both entertained and encouraged local high school and middle school students to participate within their communities and apply the teaching of King to their daily lives.

“ If we don’t get actively involved,” Professor Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi, co-chair of the conference said, “nothing happens.”

Approximately 300 students from Fresno, Clovis, Central and Sanger Unified School Districts, as well as students from Fresno State, participated in the fifth annual conference Tuesday, which featured video presentations, spoken-word poetry, a musical selection, workshops and a cultural performance that reflected peace and diversity.

“ It’s a great blend of entertainment and education,” said Mark Harris, an ethnic studies student at Fresno State who was on the conference planning committee.

This year’s theme for the conference was, “A Call to Service and Civic Encouragement,” which tied in with the “Declare Yourself” event on campus. Declare Yourself is a nonpartisan campaign that is encouraging students to vote in the 2004 presidential election.

The purpose of the conference was to expose a group of students of diverse ethnic backgrounds to the legacy of King through an understanding of his nonviolent approaches to living together as a community said Professor Matthew Jendian, co-chair of the conference.

“ It is through exposure to these kinds of multicultural and educational events that students, and citizens in general, can learn about each other,” he said.

A total of 10 workshops were taught by various professors at Fresno State. The workshops focused on the methods of nonviolence, conflict resolution and human diversity awareness principles that King taught. Students from the surrounding schools also participated in the making of poster boards that reflected the teaching of King.

“ Beauty is only skin deep,” Clovis East High sophomore Jalyssa Jenkins said. “Everybody has something different to offer.”

The conference was sponsored by the Africana and American Indian Studies Department and Research Center at Fresno State and co-sponsored by Instructionally Related Activities, Associated Students, Inc.