Calvin Looking for Students for MLK Weekend

November 9, 2004 == MEDIA ADVISORY

In January 2005 Calvin College will host its annual MLK Young Leaders Weekend,
a three-day event featuring workshops, seminars, movies, worship, time for
reflection and more for local high school students from racial and ethnic
minority communities.

But the school currently is looking for students who want to be part of the
January 14-16, 2005 weekend (which is free).

Calvin's Randal Jelks notes that a limited number of local students will be
selected to participate and students must be nominated by a church, school or
organization to take part. The nomination deadline is December 3. Interested
people can call Calvin at 526-6749 for more information.

The weekend will be sponsored by Calvin's Office of Pre-College Programs as
well as the school's new African and African Diaspora Studies minor.

"This year," says Jelks, director of the African Studies minor, "there will be
two workshops blocks where students will learn about the history of the Civil
Rights Movement as well as how they today can be catalysts for social change
while remaining rooted in a firmament of faith."

The students, who will be joined by Calvin College students for the entire
weekend, also will do a service learning project and, Jelks, says, the intent
is to make a strong connection between service and thinking about the
structural problems of a community.

The service learning is then followed by a time for reflection on what the
various groups have learned. After free time, the community then watches a film
together and is led in a "talk back" session. This year the film will be either
the HBO film "Boycott" or the Spike Lee documentary "Four Little Girls."

On Sunday, the young leaders will attend a community church and then gather to
think about their calling as Christian leaders.

The Calvin committee for the event includes: Rhae-Ann Booker, director of
pre-college programs; Jacqueline Rhodes, assistant dean of multicultural
student development; Melvin Thomas, Pathways to Possibilities coordinator; and
Jelks.

The Pathways to Possibilities sponsors include the Richard D. Van Lunen
Foundation, Meijer and Bank One.

For info on last year's weekend see
http://www.calvin.edu/admin/precoll/mlk1.htm

-end-
Received on Tue Nov 9 11:37:13 2004