The Dallas Post
Dallas, PA Thursday, January 24, 2002 3
o)r. Martin Luther King Jr.:
Editor's Note: The Dallas Post agreed to publish three Lake-Lehman
High School student essays judged best by the school. Jennifer
Chulick was presented with a $50 prize for having the best essay.
The title above was taken from Kayla Culver’s essay.
By JENNIFER CHULICK
“Here on the pulse of this new
day/You may have the grace to
Jook up and out/And into your
Q.sicrs eyes, into/Your brother's
face, your country/And say sim-
ply/Very simply /With
hope/Good Morning” (Angelou).
This quote from Maya An-
gelou’s Inaugural Poem “The
Rock Cries Out to us Today” ex-
presses the importance of begin-
ning the world anew. There is al-
ways hope for a new life; the
@ nly way to start is to begin
gradually. That is what Dr. Mar-
tin Luther King, Jr. did to gain
rights for African Americans and
change the world at the same
time. He knew change needed to
take place and began slowly. He
gained many followers through-
out his lifetime that united in
peace and love to accomplish
one goal: equality. But, the mes-
sage of Martin Luther King is
ph ®t in the back of minds driven
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“py capitalism and materialism.
Martin Luther King would look
on the world today and feel frus-
trated that his message of peace
and unity is lost, and people in
the world are misguided in a
maze of selfishness. In today’s
society people hide behind the
facade of capitalism and materi-
alism to show how the United
States has progressed. People
worship money and the “stuff” it
buys. Some struggle all their
lives to reach the highest posi-
tion in a company, not for the
pride of personal accomplish-
ment, but for a false sense of
self-worth and personal happi-
ness.
Somehow in the battle for po-
sitions and titles King’s name
has been forgotten as the man
who helped African Americans
gain rights ‘and equality.
“Progress is a disease” (e.e. cum-
mings) that hypnotizes people
into believing self-worth and
happiness are judged by wealth
and possessions. Selfishness en-
ters and people care only for
themselves and nothing of hurt-
ing the feelings of someone else.
It is painful to hear 5 and 6-
year-old children calling each
other rude, painful names know-
ing they will hurt someone's feel-
ings. After people are stripped of
what they take for granted, do
they then realize the true value
of it. This occurred when two
airplanes crashed into the Twin
Towers. Along with the collapse
of the Towers was the collapse of
the nation’s egotism, and fear
The Man and The Mission
began to reign. This fear leads to
racism and hate when people
need to hurt others to make
themselves feel safe. This attack
on the symbols of American cap-
italism shows people everywhere
that material objects do not last,
only the feelings of pride in each
other and their country can
bring a nation together.
King was one man with a pow-
erful message; he changed dra-
matically the lives of not only
African American men and
women, but also men and
women of all nationalities, races,
and creeds. He created a dream,
acted on the dream, and trans-
formed the world. Unfortunately
when King died no one contin-
ued where he left off. Because
there is no segregation and
women have rights the world is
not finished fulfilling the dream
of Martin Luther King. There are
still discrimination, hate crimes,
and Ku Klux Klan activities. The
reality that King would not be
proud of the world today is a bit-
ter draught to swallow. Yet who
can really say this country and
this life are better than any oth-
er when you cannot even re-
member the last time you did
not judge someone for the way
they look instead of who they
are.
However, not everything about
America would sadden Martin
Luther King if he were alive to-
day. Young children in elemen-
tary school learn the importance
of his message and his pictures
line the hallways outside the
classrooms. With the September
11th attacks people around the
world have united in ways they
never have before. There is a
new pride in the country and a
renewed urgency to aid those in
need. King said in his “Where Do
We Go From ' Here?” speech,
“What I'm trying to get you to
see this morning is that a man
may be self-centered in his self-
denial and self-righteous in his
self-sacrifice. His generosity may
feed his ego, and his piety may
feed his pride. So without love,
benevolence becomes egotism,
and martyrdom becomes a spiri-
tual pride” (King). It is wonderful
to be generous and help those in
need, but do not do it to feed
your ego and put it up for a
prize on you mantle to display.
Martin Luther King's message
is echoed in the lyrics of popular
contemporary singer Jewel:
“Lend our voices only to sounds
of freedom/No longer lend our
strength to that which we wish
to be free from/Fill your lives
with love and bravery/And we
shall lead a life uncommon”
(Kilcher). Do not make King’s life
and struggles seem in vain — he
fought for blacks, he fought for
whites, and he fought for you.
By AUSTIN WILLIAMS
I believe Dr. King would like
some things about our country,
and yet dislike some things. At
the time of Dr. King's crusades
of peaceful protests and love for
enemies, minorities and African-
Americans in general, were seg-
regated from the white society.
Nevertheless, being a minister,
Dr. King stood inside moral
@ oundaries, and did not act vio-
lently against those people who
were violent to him. This is what
he would want to see in America
if he were alive today.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. re-
lied on his faith to help sustain
him through the mockery, an
fear for his life that an African-
American leader of his time lived
@ rough every day. He quoted
‘the Bible,
“And Jesus said, ‘But
I say unto you, Love your ene-
mies, bless them that curse you,
do. good for them that hate
you...” (Matthew 5:44). Dr King
would definitely say Americans
need to “...turn the other cheek,”
or take criticism a lot better,
thus creating a more loving and
caring society.
Dr King, in his simulated visit
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a person I ad-
mire greatly, not because of anything he did
Jor himself, but for what he did for others.”
Austin Williams
to America, would love to see the
intermingling of not just African-
Americans and whites, but those
from all walks of life. He would
be a strong voice and protector
of the innocent Muslim-Ameri-
can population, in the aftermath
of our recent tragedy. As Ameri-
cans, we still have to work at
creating a greater toleration of
others who may be different. We
need to accept others’ differ-
ences, and love individuals for
who they are. When we look at
those individuals who have
made an impact on our society,
many of them are minorities. Dr.
King would be fond of the fact
that our government, sports
teams and other influential in-
stitutions in our society are di-
verse. This would be one of Dr.
King's most satisfying observa-
tions about America today.
“If a man is called to be a
street sweeper, he should sweep
the streets even as Michelangelo
painted, or Beethoven composed
music, or Shakespeare wrote po-
etry. He should sweep streets so
well that all the host of heaven
and earth will pause to say, here
lived a great street sweeper who
did his job well.” Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., quoted here in
one of his many motivational
speeches, taught our great
country, -and even our great
world, what it is to be honor-
able. The lack of diversity in our
schools and communities should
not deter us from understanding
Dr. King’s message of peace. Dr.
King stood for what he believed
in even in the face of adversity.
He was the best man he could
have possibly been under the
oppression of brutal racism. Dr.
King would say we need to be
the best person we could possi-
bly be, even if we feel insignifi-
cant in what we are doing. We
should put maximum effort and
determination into whatever is
set before us, do the best job we
possibly can, and unexpected
outcomes are sure to find their
way into our lives. Just a few de-
termined people working togeth-
er, side by side, to the best of
their ability, could in fact
change our community, thus
making our world a better place
to live.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a
person I admire greatly, not be-
cause of anything he did for
himself, but for what he did for
others. Changing the shape of
America’s face forever, we
should honor everyday the ac-
complishments of this great civil
rights leader, American author
and American hero. Although he
was fighting against the igno-
rance, he still blessed his ene-
mies, and respected them. If we
could only be half the person
that Dr. King was, this world
would be full of peace and pros-
perity for all. Let us take the
challenges he gives us, and live
our lives to the fullest everyday.
Divided we will certainly fall, but
unity will bring peace, love and
prosperity to all.
By KAYLA M. CULVER
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
would be extremely disheartened
by the state of racial affairs in
today’s society. The respect and
equality for which he hoped and
worked for has yet to be realized
our country. People will al-
n
&. continue to fear that which
is different.
It was King who said “Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere.” He spoke those
very words fighting for a cause
which killed him over 35 years
ago. It is unsettling to think that
times and attitudes have yet to
budge at the thought of diversi-
ty; however, there is still a vast
hope that times will change.
Unless the people change,
racial intolerance cannot. With
the racial tensions and pres-
sures people of all ages deal with
today, I am reminded of another
quote by King. He once spoke of
what it takes to be a man and
he said, “The ultimate measure
of a man is not where he stands
in moments of comfort, but
where he stands at times of
challenge and controversy.” It
makes you think about where
you stand when it comes to the
ever popular issue of racism.
King was willing to do any-
thing possible to push the Civil
Rights movement forward. When
it came right down to it, most
would say it was his very pas-
sion that killed him. I, on the
Sarah Podehl named to Temple fall dean’s list
Sarah Podehl, a second year student at Temple University’s Phar-
macy School was named to the Dean’s List for the 2002 fall semes-
ter with a GPA of 3.67. She is a member of Lamda Kappa Sigma
sorority. Her parents are Ned and Betsy Podehl of Dallas.
o Utton named to DeSales University dean’s list
Nicole Sutton, of Dallas, has been named to the DeSales Universi-
ty Fall 2001 Dean’s List. Sutton is an accounting major. Students
named to the Dean's List in recognition of academic excellence in
their course work and a grade point average of 3.25 or above.
Carlson named to Westminster dean’s list
Paul Carlson son of Mr. & Mrs. Paul Carlson, Shavertown, has
been named to the Dean's List at Westminster College for the Fall
2001 Semester. Carlson is a molecular biology major and a graduate
of Dallas High School.
®)¢Frain named to Geneva College dean’s list
Rebecca DeFrain, of Sweet Valley, has been named to the Dean's
List for the fall of 2001 at Geneva College. Dean's List status is
awarded to students who earn a 3.6 grade point average or better.
DeFrain is a freshman at Geneva majoring in business. She is the
daughter of Cheryl DeFrain.
Foster graduates from Lehigh University
& Joan Foster of Dallas was one of 171 undergraduates and 233
graduate students to receive a diploma during graduation exercises
at Lehigh University recently.
other hand disagree. I firmly be-
lieve that it was one ignorant
and racist man by the name of
James Earl Ray who put an end
to King’s life. King’s philosophies
and dreams are still alive today
even though he is not.
When King was shot his sup-
porters refused to let his theo-
ries die with the rest of him.
However, the reality in today’s
society is a far cry from what it
was in Kings day. I hope, and
I'm sure the majority of the rest
of the world hopes, that some-
day, sooner rather than later,
people of all races will unite and
fulfill the dream of Dr. Martin
Luther King. :
In ‘his famous “lI Have a
Dream” speech, King an-
nounced, “I say to you today my
friends that in spite of the diffi-
culties and frustrations of the
moment, I still have a dream. It
is a dream deeply rooted in the
American dream. I have a dream
that one day this nation will rise
up and live out the true meaning
of its creed: We hold these
truths to be self-evident that all
men are created equal.” All men
to this very day, this very hour,
this very second are not created
equal. Not only would King be
disappointed that things aren't
going better ‘then they were so
long ago, but we should be dis-
appointed in ourselves.
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POST PHOTO/TIMOTHY RAUB
Chris Kabosky was one of the segragated students during Lake-
Lehman High School's observation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Day. Identified by red ribbons, those students faced discrimination
throughout the day.
Discrimination
(continued from page 1)
through the day at an assem-
bly in front of the entire student
body.
“I felt like I didn’t exist,” said
Erin Loughney, one of the stu-
dents who chose to take part in
the exercise. “I could not wait for
three o'clock, because I know
this would all be over then, but
for other people that go through
this every day of their lives, they
can't take off their ribbon, or
change their color.”
Loughney went on to tell of of
her experience when attempting
to use the lavatory. She said she
and another student had to wait
about 20 minutes to get a key
for the locked girl's lavatory des-
ignated for ribbon use, because
they were ignored by the faculty.
The diversity club was started
by Nickalls, Prescott and Dodson
as part of their senior project.
Since its inception, the club has
grown to 100 members, becom-
ing the largest at the school.
“We wanted to show what
Lake-Lehman would be like if it
were segregated,” said Prescott.
“Everything seemed to be a suc-
cess.”
Joseph Dombroski, an English
teacher at the high school, ad-
vised Nickalls, Dodson and
Prescott for the project, and
hoped it would enlighten the
students of Lake-Lehman to
what is going on around the
country, and around the world.
“(The club) brings a lot of the
students that constitute the
population of Lake-Lehman High
School to diversity awareness,”
said Dombroski. “Since there is
not a lot of diversity in this
school, the girls thought that it
“King’s ideas and
philosophies are still
alive today, even
though he is not.”
Kayla Culver
Lake-L.ehman student
would be a good idea to start the
first awareness club along with
celebrating the life of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.”
The day was highlighted with
a speech by associate minister
James Breese of Mount Zion
Baptist Church in Wilkes-Barre.
Breese stressed the impor-
tance of an exercise like the one
the girls coordinated, and said it
was something all schools in the
Wyoming Valley should use as a
format in educating students
about the effects of discrimina-
tion, and as a way to celebrate
the life'of Dr. King.
“This program was something
that you don’t see at many
schools,” said Breese. “The stu-
dents were upfront, honest and
sincere about the day, and how
they were treated. It is a great
thing to be able to see a school
do something like this.”
Lehman students Kayla Cul-
ver, Austin Williams and Jen
Chulick were also chosen to read
their essays “What would King
think of America if he were alive
today.”
“King’s ideas and philosophies
are still alive today, even though
he is not,” said Culver in her es-
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