By Sterling Johnston '03 and Farra Ungar '02

"I thought our Martin Luther King Day celebration was one of the most valuable days I've spent at Deerfield," said Caitlin Dalton '02. Deerfield Academy held a celebration of diversity on Monday, January 21, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Planned by a committee headed by art teacher Mara Whalen '95 that consisted of nine faculty members, six students, and Northfield Mount Hermon diversity educator Bob Cooley, the day constituted an eclectic mix of performance and creative learning.

Last year, the school hosted a number of discussion groups, and while they stressed the importance of equality, there were complaints that the school did not honor the life of Dr. King. After reflecting on "negative responses from students and faculty who were uncomfortable with the discussion groups from last year's MLK Day activities," Ms. Whalen chose a different approach to expose the Deerfield community to diversity on campus. "It is important to keep switching it up. That's the only way to have a day that will benefit the community-a day that's interesting and helpful," said Leslie Joseph '02. This year, the goal of the day was to encourage discussions outside discussion groups, in dorms, classes, and sit-down tables. "We hope that discussions occur. We hope that kids really talk amongst themselves," said Ms. Whalen.

The program included performances and speeches by Blair Bodine '02, April Simmons '03, Leslie Joseph, and the Deerfield Step Team. Keynote speaker, Reverend Richard T. Fournier, received his Bachelor's degree from Colby College and Masters in Divinity from Boston University before becoming the founding director of the Taproot Center. He was also the director of International Programs of the Polus Center for Social and Economic Development, where he established a prosthetic clinic in Leon, Nicaragua. He was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Christ in 1982, and has taught at both Smith College and Cambridge College.

Currently a Protestant chaplain at Mount Holyoke, Reverend Fournier spoke in the morning, setting the tone of the day before freshmen and sophomores departed for a series of diversity exercises. Juniors and seniors participated in specially-designed workshops, such as gospel singing, African dance, and meditation.

The diversity exercises were based on the experiences of Ms. Whalen and Deerfield students at the People of Color Conference. "They were meant to display a physical sense of self, a representation of yourself," said Ms. Whalen.

The MLK Day committee hoped the participation in these activities would provide an entertaining and informative way of introducing the idea of the differences in culture, background, and experience that can be found on campus.

This year's celebration was Ms. Whalen's first experience in planning this type of event. "When I was a student here, we did not have any MLK Day festivities." With her assistance, this recent tradition continues and evolves with the needs of the school.