An event celebrating the leadership qualities of Martin Luther King Jr. implored students to find their "inner Dr. King" in the University of Rhode Island's Multicultural Center last night.
After noticing there were no leadership-oriented events as part of URI's Martin Luther King, Jr. Week, Coordinator of the Feinstein Center for Service Learning Sarah Miller decided to take action. With the help of Student Leadership Coordinator Robert Vincent, Miller created a discussion-based event dealing with students' inner leadership abilities.
"[We're] bringing [King] to life on campus," she said.
Miller began the event by teaching each of the roughly 20 attendees about the social change model of leadership development, which focuses on the connection between individual, group, and community values. Miller explained each person's idea is "part of a larger collaboration" when trying to instigate change regarding social issues.
"If you don't understand that larger system, it's much more difficult to reach that change," Vincent said.
Using an analogy of multiple people being pulled down a river, Miller said that the key to helping end issues such as poverty and hunger is to cut it off at the source while simultaneously trying to prevent the problem from recurring in the future.
"[King] liked to attack the root cause," she said. "It's an ongoing process."
Another aspect of leadership is commitment, which Vincent explained comes from being passionate about a specific topic.
"[Commitment] is part of your leadership DNA," he said, referring to the innate characteristics of leaders such as King.
"Martin Luther King didn't wake up and suddenly [become] a leader," Miller added.
Though change starts with an idea or a belief, Miller explained that consistently working toward one's goal is imperative.
Vincent admitted that working toward these goals can be difficult due to differences that occur among groups fighting for change. Though multiple groups may be fighting for the same issue, disagreements can occur regarding the methods to reach that goal. However, these differences can be combated through compromise and understanding of the groups' main purpose.
"We can have a little controversy, but we have to be civil about it," he said. "You really need to Zen it out sometimes."
Although groups of people may have different ways to attain similar goals, Vincent stressed the idea of having a common purpose and putting differences aside.
Miller explained that although people often have different viewpoints about an issue, certain ideas cannot simply be considered incorrect.
"If someone is just as passionate as you, how can they be wrong?" she said.
The event included an activity in which four groups were made and asked to create their own list of individual, group, and community values.
For example, one group discussed the importance of education, with students offering their own perspectives.
URI student Nate Jones said it is every individual's responsibility to educate themselves and others.
"You have to take responsibility. Don't just have a pity party, you need to step up and help yourself out," he said. "If you show your knowledge and they share it, everyone benefits."
"The more people are educated all around, the more they can choose for themselves," added group mate Olivia Morrissey.
Miller had a more personal connection regarding the issue of hunger, which was also up for debate. While giving an example of what she wanted the groups to discuss, she said, "I feel it's my responsibility to give back because I was once on food stamps."
Miller also said it is important not to simply compare oneself with historical figures such as King. and give up trying to make change.
"It's hard to examine his life and not say, ‘but I'm not him.' [But] through this process, you can be a change agent," she said.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!