Staff

Union College will not have classes Monday, Jan. 15 in memory of Martin
Luther King, Jr. Union's Multicultural Committee encourages students,
employees and the community to have "a day on, not just a day off."

Celebrations around the city will include a
youth rally at 8:45 a.m. and a
presentation by Jane Elliot, an internationally known teacher and
diversity educator, at 2 p.m. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will
host both of these events. Click here
for information about other events remembering Dr. King this week at UN-L.

"There are many celebrations throughout the city on Monday morning and
Monday evening," says Joann Herrington, Union College education
professor and member of the Multicultural Committee. "If you can't
attend those events, please find a way to give your time and service in
some way as a means of making Lincoln a better and more peaceful place."

At Union, chapel on Tuesday will focus on the life of Dr. King. Deah
Harriott of Allon Chapel Seventh-day Adventist Church will lead the
praise team in song and Pastor Marlon Perkins of the Philedelphia
Seventh-day Adventist Church in Des Moines, Iowa will speak at 10:30
a.m. in the College View Church.

On Thursday, Chris Blake and Oscar Harriott will moderate a "Lunch and
Learn" discussion from 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the Presidential Dining Hall
of Union Market located in the Ortner Center. Anyone interested in
participating may join for this lunch-time forum. Meals will be
available for purchase in Union Market.

“Can we come back sometime and do more?” asked Matthew Johnson, senior
chemistry major at Union College while repainting a group home.
Questions like Johnson's echoed across the city as over 900 volunteers
at more than 50 agencies celebrated the 25th anniversary of Project
Impact, Union College's annual community service day. The spirit of
volunteerism that has made the event a success since 1981 continues
throughout the year. Students who want to do more build upon a legacy of
community involvement.

Project Impact primarily serves those who serve the needs of the Lincoln
community by doing the odd jobs that non-profit organizations don't have
the man power to keep up with. “We wouldn't have this many working on a
huge project like that without Project Impact's help,” said Renee Cohen,
volunteer relations coordinator at Goodwill, where students sorted piles
of clothing donated to the organization.

Partner sites included caring for the feet of the homeless at the Matt
Talbot Soup Kitchen, distributing fliers and posters for the Alzheimer's
Association and reading to children at public libraries. Most sites have
less contact with the end recipients of the services. Students and
faculty cleaned, sorted, pulled weeds, mulched flower beds and did
clerical work behind the scenes. These aren't the sort of activities
that give volunteers touching stories of having directly affected
someone's life.

Sometimes the the lack of a touching story is the greatest story of all.
“I don't know what to tell you,” said Tyler Henry, junior exercise
science major at Union College. “I pulled weeds for a few hours, nothing
too special.” Yet Henry, with feet and legs caked in mud, exhausted on a
95 degree day, was ready to do more. According to Justin Okimi,
assistant chaplain, that's what Project Impact is about, serving because
Union College is a part of a community, serving for the sake of being
servants.

This year, students and employees of the college have already done more.
For the 25th anniversary, the activities expanded from a half day to a
full day of work, adding a special urban renewal project in two of
Lincoln's poorest neighborhoods in the afternoon. Groups from Union,
joined by about 120 workers from Lincoln Action Program, painted over
graffiti, picked up litter, weeded and disposed of garbage for residents
of the Clinton and Hartley neighborhoods.

“It was amazing to see so many students stay through the afternoon,”
said Jesse Proctor, senior business administration major and
neighborhood revitalization coordinator, “They went out, finished up
projects and came back looking for more ways to help. Everyone worked
harder and longer than we could have hoped for.”

At supper time, the college provided a barbecue for volunteers and local
residents at Peter Pan Park in north central Lincoln. Later in the
evening, Jose Rojas, director of the Office of Volunteer Ministries for
the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists, urged the
students to continue building upon the experience they had during
Project Impact, and shared the role volunteers have played in his life.
Rojas had worked along side Union College volunteers during the day and
said, “I have never felt so proud of a group of students as I did today.”

For more about Project Impact, read the Lincoln Journal-Star's coverage
of the day here
(PDF).

Lincoln—The stairwells of the Everett Dick Building once again
reverberate with the sounds of reunions and students making new
acquaintances. More stations are open in Union Market and the lines are
a bit longer. Across campus, lost-looking new students get pointed in
the right directions. The energy brought by the return of students can
be felt everywhere on campus.

At Union College, school is back in session.

Besides starting classes, the day's events included an academic
convocation with a spiritual twist. Tanya Cochran, assistant professor
of English, delivered a message encouraging students to approach life
with questions rather than preconceived answers and to cultivate an
attitude of wonderment. Cochran shared her own testimony as well as
specific ways students could apply her message. Read an excerpt of her address here (PDF).

Registration will continue until Aug. 25th. The number of students
enrolled cannot be determined until that time; however, preliminary
estimates show an increase over last year.