Arcadia Marks MLK Day with Special Events

By Purnell T. Cropper | January 9, 2014

Arcadia University is celebrating the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a two-day community donation and recycling event on Sunday, Jan. 19 and Monday, Jan. 20. Arcadia volunteers will offer free paper shredding to the community (maximum security and confidentially will be exercised with all materials), in addition to collecting various items to benefit Habitat for Humanity, Cradles to Crayons, the SPCA, New Life Thrift, Whosoever Thrift, and Lion’s Club. Finally, volunteers will collect all electronics with a plug for recycling in an ethical way with the organization eWaste, provided by eForce Recycling. All paper is accepted, including paper with staples and binder clips. However, three-ring binders are not accepted, and there is a limit of 10 standard boxes per person or organization.

Bring donations to Stiteler Auditorium in Murphy Hall between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. Follow signs from the Church Road entrance; volunteers will unload your car for you.

We are accepting:

  • Clothing
  • Household items
  • Toiletries and Travel-size Toiletries
  • Kids’ Toys
  • Canned Goods
  • Construction Supplies
  • Eye Glasses
  • Musical Keyboards
  • New and Used Blankets & Linens
  • New and Used Towels
  • School and Art Supplies
  • Pet Supplies for SPCA
  • Ink Cartridges and Cell Phones
  • New and Gently Used Shoes

The complete wish list can be found on Arcadia’s Office of Community Service website.

In addition, the Office of Institutional Diversity supports two events, both free and open to the public, to commemorate the holiday. The first is the 4th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Program on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. at Congregation Keneseth Israel (Old York Road and Township Line in Elkins Park).  The memorial program, hosted by the Cheltenham branch of the NAACP and the Jewish Social Policy Action Network, will feature Dr. Doreen Loury, professor of sociology, anthropology, and criminal justice at Arcadia. Loury will speak about mass incarceration and how it continues to fall disproportionately on communities of color.

The second event, which is sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity, is a community discussion with Tim Wise, educator, author, and activist, on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 6 p.m. in the Commons Great Room. Wise will speak on racism and white privilege, based on his memoir White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son and other selected works.

Arcadia’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) program is helping to put on an educational event on water sanitation and rights, sponsored by the Model UN Chapter in Philadelphia, at Abington High School for IPCR students, staff, and faculty.