A student team recently met with university administrators to discuss possibly canceling classes in observance of Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Day on Jan. 17.

Amanda Guzman, co-chair of the Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity (CORED) student team, said recognizing MLK Day as a holiday by canceling classes would allow students to have more time to commit themselves to service activities either on campus or at home.

CORED's student team met with Tom Poole, associate vice provost for educational equity, last Monday to discuss the option of canceling classes on the holiday.

Guzman said that since very few faculty members observe the holiday, many students are unable to participate in events or service activities.

"It seems very few faculty incorporate Martin Luther King Jr. remembrance into their curriculum or classroom activities for that day," Guzman said.

Poole said he was "personally torn" in the decision to observe MLK Day as a holiday on campus.

He said it was an appropriate way to remember King, yet he felt many students would treat the day as another three-day holiday by going home and not taking part in King events on campus.

"We could end up with fewer people involved with King activities than we do now," Poole said.

CORED overall chair Giovanna Genard said the student team's initiatives are still in their preliminary stages, and their findings will be discussed with the chairs from different CORED teams at its next executive meeting on Nov. 22.

"If the community reviews and approves any of the findings, we would move forward in the form of recommendation," Genard said.

CORED also consists of an outreach team, staff issues management team, academic team and climate team and serves as an advisory board to Penn State President Graham Spanier with issues concerning racial and ethnic diversity on campus.

Guzman said that if the commission passes the initiative, the student team would circulate a petition allowing students to say they want to participate in a personal day of service to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

She added that the student team would then send the petition to the University Faculty Senate for review.

Guzman said she disagreed with the reasoning that canceling classes to observe MLK Day would lead to canceling classes for other holidays as well, such as President's Day.

"Other universities ... observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day without these other holidays, so we do not see the rationale behind using that as an excuse," she said.

The student team, which is composed of 15 to 20 students and staff members, is working on a number of other initiatives this semester.

Mahmoud Ablan, student team co-chair, said the team is also working on improving academic advising.

The initiative comes after receiving complaints from many students, especially minority students, about the equality of advising on campus.

Jim Wager, assistant vice provost for enrollment management and university registrar, said he supports the university in continuing to hold classes on MLK Day.

However, he said his role is to implement the university calendar that is approved by Spanier and Faculty Senate.

"If we start to recognize too many days, there would be less time in the classroom and a negative impact on education and learning," he said.

Wager said instead of canceling classes, faculty members should incorporate the contributions of Martin Luther King, Jr. into the day's curriculum.