A birthday at Briscoe fit for a King

Birthday cheers could be heard echoing from Briscoe Quad Thursday night in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Briscoe Student Government and resident assistants hosted a birthday party to recognize the life and legacy of King. Monday will be the 40th anniversary honoring King and his work. \nKatie Carpenter, the Briscoe Community Educator, said she hoped students take a lot away from the program. \n“I hope the students at Briscoe understand the influence and leadership of Dr. King,” she said. \nAbout 30 students attended to help acknowledge King’s importance and enjoy cake, ice cream and punch. \nSophomore and Briscoe resident Elliott Suggs came to show his support. \n“He was such a great man,” he said. \nThe RAs provided clips of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech along with information about the Washington D.C. monument planned in King’s honor. Attendees engaged in conversation and had a range of opinions. When the RAs asked the audience if they thought King’s dream came true, many people said the United States has made great progress. \n“There are still certain issues we have to get to,” Suggs said. “We are making progress, but it’s slow progress.” \nSome students argued that the U.S. has definitely changed because, for the first time, a black man is running for president. \nMike Novitski, junior and Briscoe RA, was glad Briscoe decided to host the event. \n“Awareness of the importance of Martin Luther King Jr. and what he did to impact American history is important,” he said. \nThe group focused on the unique topic of the history of IU and the Civil Rights Movement. Herman B Wells had a substantial impact on the \nintegration of the IU campus. He removed a “reserved” sign in the Indiana Memorial Union to allow African American students to eat there, and also promoted the acceptance of African American student Bill Garrett into Big Ten basketball. Perhaps one of Wells’ most notable battles was concerning black IU student Eddie Whitehead. He was the first African American baseball player at IU. Other states would refuse to play with him and he even had to sleep in a different dorm. When Wells heard of this, he made comments in the newspaper and demanded a change. \nWells also created the Lincoln House residence hall in 1948 for black students, which had the same quality and same price as the other dormitories. Some restaurants on campus would refuse to serve African Americans, so Wells told them they either serve the black students or he would build other restaurant options where students of all races could eat.\nThe program helped educate students about King’s impact on American and global history. \n“I was very satisfied,” Carpenter said. “I think we had some great discussion and we will be supporting all other campus and city-wide Martin Luther King Jr. events.”