UF Events

Courage | Truth | Justice | Compassion | Dignity | Humility | Service

Monday, January 21

8:00 a.m. - Day of Service
[SERVICE]
Gator Wesley Foundation
1380 W. University Avenue

A Day On - Not a Day Off! Join with other UF community members in remembering the legacy of Dr. King by serving in the Gainesville community. Learn about service opportunities in Gainesville, meet new people, experience YOUR community first-hand, and celebrate Dr. King! Light breakfast will be provided. Transportation is not provided for the event. We ask that you carpool to the Plaza of the Americas for registration and then to the service site when you are dismissed from the Plaza of the Americas – you will have a site leader directing you at the Plaza of the Americas.

Register online at http://www.ufmlk.org/

Sponsored by the Center for Leadership & Service

11:00 a.m. - Day of Service Reflection & Celebration of Dr. King
[HUMILITY]
Gator Wesley Foundation
1380 W. University Avenue

Continue your Day of Service by joining us for lunch and reflection! Come reflect upon your experience and have a chance to win door prizes!

Sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Service

12:00 p.m. - King Celebration Annual Commemorative March
[COURAGE]
Bo Diddley Plaza [MAP]

Join the University of Florida MLK Team to participate in the Annual King Celebration Commemorative March, starting at Bo Diddley Plaza in Downtown Gainesville to the MLK Multipurpose Center on Waldo Road.

Sponsored by the MLK Commission of Florida, Inc.

Tuesday, January 22

9:00 p.m. - Ain’t I A Woman!
[TRUTH]
Reitz Union, ​Rion Ballroom

This musical theatre program celebrates the life and times of four powerful African American women: renowned novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, ex-slave and fiery abolitionist Sojourner Truth, exuberant folk artist Clementine Hunter, and fervent civil rights worker Fannie Lou Hamer. The musical score is drawn from the heartfelt spirituals and blues of the Deep South, the urban vitality of the Jazz Age, and contemporary concert music by African Americans. Ain’t I a Woman! is a joyful exploration of the trials and triumphs of  four passionate and accomplished women. Since 1993, the Core Ensemble has toured in every region of the United States and internationally to Australia, England, Russia, Ukraine, and the British Virgin Islands. The Core Ensemble has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, The Palm Beach County Cultural Council and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music.

Sponsored by the Provost and Senior Vice President’s Office, George A. Smathers Libraries, Reitz Union Board, GatorWell, Pride Student Union, Student Government, and Intercultural Engagement

Wednesday, January 23

10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Religious Involvement Opportunities Fair
[COMPASSION]
Reitz Union Colonnade

The Campus Multi-Faith Cooperative in the Division of Student Affairs is pleased to host this fair to provide information and opportunities for students, faculty and staff to learn about the various faith communities that support students. Learn more about how to get involved and meet the religious leaders.

Sponsored by the Campus Multi-Faith Cooperative and Intercultural Engagement

Thursday, January 24

7:00 p.m - Channeling Your Inner Rosa Parks: Women’s Activism Then and Now
[COURAGE]
Ustler Hall Atrium

Join the Women’s Student Association, SISTUHS, Inc., the Black Women's Image Initiative, and the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.‘s legacy. We will have a presentation on Rosa Parks, followed by a panel on women's activism.

Sponsored by Women’s Student Association, Women’s Studies & Gender Research

Friday, January 25

2:00 p.m. - The Legacy of Dr. King and the Integration of the University of Florida
[TRUTH]
Little Hall 113

On Friday January 25th, from 2-4pm, Drs. Sharon Austin, Eric Castillo, Patricia Hilliard-Nunn, and Harry Shaw, and Ms. Leah Villanueva will discuss "Integration at the University of Florida and the Challenges that Remain" in Little Hall, room 113.  Each of the panelists will discuss the historical efforts to integrate UF, efforts to attract minority students and faculty, the integration of graduate and law schools, and the problems that remain for students of color on campus.  Refreshments will be served.  This activity is part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration week. Sponsored by the African American Studies Program

6:00 p.m. - Candlelight Vigil
[COMPASSION]
Reitz Union Amphitheatre

A candlelight vigil will be held to reflect upon the values Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. has taught us throughout the week and to celebrate the life of a great civil rights hero who has called upon us to leave our mark. A reenactment of the famous “I Have A Dream” speech will kick-off this event, followed by guest performances, video tributes and conclude with a reflection, moment of silence and social justice pledge that challenges each of us to leave our mark.

Sponsored by Campus Multi-Faith Cooperative and GatorNights!

Various Religious Observances
[DIGNITY]

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. - The Forum Project
[JUSTICE]
Smathers Library 1A

The Forum Project (TFP) offers creative opportunities for individuals and communities to deconstruct and dialogue about the oppressions we face and to develop creative tactics for liberation. We work through Theatre of the Oppressed, critical pedagogy and other creative techniques to engage people to explore and understand the world, their communities and their lives.

Sponsored by the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, Asian Pacific Islander American Affairs, LGBT Affairs, Institute of Black Culture, George A. Smathers Libraries, Student Government and Pride Student Union

Various Religious Observances
[DIGNITY]

7:00 p.m. - Keynote Speaker: An Evening with Dr. Michael Eric Dyson
[TRUTH]
Grand Ballroom, Reitz Union

The UF Black Graduate Student Organization (BGSO), UF Office of the Provost and ACCENT Speaker’s Bureau hosts Dr. Michael Eric Dyson as the keynote speaker during UF’s campus-wide celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As one of the most authoritative voices on issues of race and pop culture, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson has distinguished himself as more than a professor. He is one of the leading minds in the fields of sociology and African-American history and culture. According to the American Program Bureau “Dr. Dyson is presently University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. His legendary rise – from welfare father to Princeton Ph.D., from church pastor to college professor, from a factory worker who didn’t start college until he was 21 to a figure who has become what writer Naomi Wolf terms ‘the ideal public intellectual of our time’ – may help explain why author Nathan McCall simply calls him ‘a street fighter in suit and tie.’” Doors open at 6:30 PM and the program begins at 7:00 PM. The celebration is free and open to all members of the Gainesville and surrounding communities. In addition to Dr. Dyson’s address, the program will also include a scholarship presentation and performances by the Agbedidi African Dance Troupe and the University Gospel Choir.

Sponsored by Black Graduate Student Organization, ACCENT Speaker’s Bureau, Office of Graduate Minority Programs, and Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President

7:00 p.m. - Human Rights by Human Hands Art Show
[JUSTICE]
Orange & Brew, Reitz Union

Presented by the Center for Leadership and Service as part of its Human Rights series, Human Rights by Human Hands will feature artists and writers from the campus and community whose work addresses the question: What do Human Rights look like? Each featured piece will focus on a particular article from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As attendees view artwork and listen to poetry and stories, they will be encouraged to see human rights from a different perspective and contemplate justice and injustice on a local, national and global scale. Light refreshments will be provided.

AFFILIATED EVENTS

Tuesday, January 15

7:00 p.m. - Film Screening: Precious Knowledge
[TRUTH]
Reitz Union Auditorium

Precious Knowledge portrays the one of the final years of the highly successful but controversial Mexican American Studies Program at Tucson High School. The program was a national model of educational success — 93 percent of its enrolled students graduating from high school and 85 percent going on to attend college, bucking a statewide trend that saw only 48 percent of Latino students graduating at all. The program taught Mexican and American history, as well as Central and South American literature and culture. But the political tide shifted in Arizona in the 2000s. The state passed extremely controversial immigration laws, which some civil libertarians equated to racial profiling. Legislative sessions in the state became heated and rife with recriminations. And when lawmakers turned their attention to Tucson High’s ethnic studies program, it became a lightning rod in the public conversation about race. Opponents of the program launched a campaign to convince the public that ethnic studies teach everything from communism to terrorism to “reverse racism.”

Sponsored by Queer People of Color (QPOC) United, Reitz Union Board (RUB) Programming, Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures

11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. - Student Organization Fair
[SERVICE]
Reitz Union Colonnade

Are you looking to get involved and be active? You want to find an organization so you can leave your legacy? IDEAL brings students and organizations together to provide organizations the opportunity to network and recruit to give students the opportunity to get involved. The Student Organization Fair is a chance for students to learn more about organizations they are interested in. It allows students to check out more than 200 student organizations on campus and talk to representatives from each organization.

Sponsored by IDEAL and the Department of Student Activities & Involvement

Values in Action: 75 Years of the Visionaires Exhibit
[COMPASSION]
Special Collections Reading Room, George A. Smathers Libraries

In 1938, Gainesville was a small, segregated town with African-Americans living mainly in the northwest quadrant of town, offering limited cultural and educational opportunities for blacks. This exhibit celebrates the lives of the eight young female activists who founded the town’s first formal organization for African-American women, and how they and their successors have enriched the civic, social and educational lives of African-Americans over the past seventy-five years.

Sponsored by the George A. Smathers Libraries and The Visionaries

6:00 p.m. - UF: The Past is Prologue  [COURAGE]
Pugh Hall

Celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Morrill Act, which allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges and universities, with a fascinating special panel discussion. The panel discussion, titled “UF: The Past is Prologue,” will take place on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at the Bob Graham Center in Pugh Hall beginning at 6:00pm. The event and parking are free and open to the public. The panel discussion will be moderated by the Graham Center’s Interim Director, David Colburn. The panelists each bring a unique and interesting perspective to this discussion marking the anniversary of the bill that helped create the University of Florida.

The event is sponsored by the Department of History and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, co-sponsored by the Bob Graham Center for Public Service, the Center for the Humanities and Public Sphere, and the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research.

11:00 a.m. - The Art of Human Rights: Exploring social justice human rights through art
[TRUTH]
Harn Museum

The Art of Human Rights: Exploring Social Justice and Human Rights through Art, is a series of specially developed tours at UF’s world class art museum. These tours focus on select objects in order to promote discussion and develop insight into key principles outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Because art possesses special power to engage us in serious thinking about crucial subjects, these tours promise to be a stimulating and enlightening venue for students seeking to be well-rounded, competent and exemplary citizens and leaders.

Sponsored by the Center for Leadership and Service and the Harn Museum

6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
The History of Academic Freedom and Activism at UF
Smathers Library (East) 1A

This panel and audience discussion will address the history and legacy of academic freedom and activism at the University of Florida in the 1960s and 1970s. Participants in the round-table will offer their thoughts on the nature of activism of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduate students at UF and in Gainesville, particularly during the period of the civil rights movement, Vietnam protests, the Johns Committee, and Roe vs. Wade. They will measure the implications of involvement in political causes on freedom of expression on campus, faculty tenure, the creation of faculty and graduate student unions, the viability of a student-led campus newspaper, and life in Gainesville more generally. Following four ten-minute presentations, there will be time for a question and answer period and more broad discussion of these issues.