28 While Martin Luther King Day was filled with remembering and honoring the great Martin Luther King Jr. and all he accomplished, many Bethel students spent their free afternoons actively making a difference in the community. Many sports teams gathered together to serve different parts of the South Bend/Mishawaka area. These included the women’s golf team, who devoted their time to the South Bend Juvenile Center, the women’s tennis team who served at the Battell Community Center, and the men’s tennis team who helped out at the local YMCA. Other teams contributed their time as well such as the women’s basketball and men’s and women’s track teams who shoveled snow around the area. While some students were making a difference in the community, there were also several activities that took place on Bethel’s campus. Rebecca Johnson, who was an African-American woman who grew up in the Pre-Civil Rights South, came and shared her story with many interested students. There was also a prayer reflection and worship time coordinated by Katie Weakland, Ph.D and DaVonne Harris. Many students also enjoyed an outreach for emerging artisans, while others experienced a meal in an Amish home. Some students also enjoyed a concert held by African-American composers and others gathered to watch the movie, “Amistad,” which tells a story of slaves on a slave ship during the mid-1800’s. There was also room for students to expand their knowledge as many traveled to the Northern Indiana Center for History. Lastly, some students had the privilege of enjoying some of Professor Theo Williams’ Jamaican Jerk Chicken while listening to how globalization has crippled small nations such as Jamaica.
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