At its meeting yesterday, the Commission on Racial/Ethnic Diversity (CORED) announced the creation of a task force to draft formal recommendations for ways to honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a visual object on campus.

In response to a request from Penn State President Graham Spanier, the task force will send him a report listing the commemoration recommendations on June 17, task force chair Paul Jovanis said.

Jovanis said the task force was formed after Spanier requested the list of commemoration ideas about two months ago.

"The administration obviously is going to be receptive, since they asked CORED to take on this responsibility," Associate Vice Provost for Educational Equity Thomas Poole said.

The purpose of the visual object is to honor King's speech at Rec Hall on Jan. 21, 1965.

Possible projects include a monument, a reflecting pool and sitting area, a scholarship fund or an audiovisual display of King's visit to Penn State at Pattee and Paterno libraries. In the past, CORED has also discussed renaming a building on campus, such as Rec Hall, after King.

Jovanis said CORED is planning to suggest their ideas for an MLK memorial to be funded by the 2006 senior class gift fund. "The gift will be something that remains timeless," said Lauren Steinberg, assistant director for the Office of Annual Giving. "It should not require too much maintenance, should be feasible in terms of cost and should reflect what Penn State stands for."

Steinberg said typically about 25 to 40 groups submit ideas for the class gift, and in the fall, the senior class will vote on which gift to adopt. She added she is not sure whether CORED's idea will be chosen.

"It's an avenue for them to pursue, but it's not guaranteed," she said.

Jovanis said the task force will send the ideas submitted to Spanier to the Office of Physical Plant (OPP) in mid-May for assessment on the viability of construction.

"OPP often works with students in assisting them with cost estimates," OPP spokesman Paul Ruskin said. "We will look at the feasibility of project, the actual cost of construction, long-term maintenance and how it fits in with the rest of the campus landscape."

Mahmoud Ablan, CORED's student issues management team co-chair, said one of CORED's most promising ideas is creating a historical blue and white marker on campus to honor King's visit, which would be placed along the trail the Lion Ambassadors follow when giving campus tours. The marker would cost about $4,000, but the price would be covered by the Alumni Association if the marker is approved.

Jovanis said as long as CORED votes in favor of the report at its meeting on June 16, it will be delivered to Spanier the next day for review.