In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and the final week of Black History Month, the Hamilton Association for Volunteering, Outreach and Charity (HAVOC) and the Days-Massolo Center (DMC) organized various events.

Last Saturday, Feb. 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., HAVOC organized their 24th annual Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Day of Service. Students volunteered at eight local non-profit organizations including the Abraham House, Clinton Middle School, Emmaus House, Jervis Public Library, Johnson Park Center, Thea Bowman House and For The Good. However, unlike previous years, the number of seats available was drastically lower due to the COVID-19 rules and regulations. Only 45 volunteers attended the trip, instead of the usual 200. “Usually our day of service is a lot bigger, but, because of COVID-19, we couldn’t accommodate every site we usually do. So for example, we couldn’t go to nursing homes,” commented Irena Chen ’25, Project Manager and Events Coordinator for the MLK Jr. Day of Service.

Chen said the event was further impacted by the absence of a portion of the volunteers. “It was especially upsetting because none of the volunteers for one of the sites showed up, which meant no volunteers could go to that site,” said Chen. She shared that her coworker had to make a phone call to the site apologizing for the absence of the students.

Back on campus, the DMC organized a guided Black History Month art walk at the Wellin Museum, led by the student docents, which took place from 2 to 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21. The event depicted American history through the lens of Black artists and creators, featuring works of art from the Wellin’s collection as well as the current exhibit,

Yashua Klos: OUR LABOUR.