Newsmakers

Becoming a Just Community

The University of Pittsburgh celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr., beginning with an interfaith service at Heinz Memorial Chapel on Jan. 13 and ending with an Equipois Unity Brunch in the O’Hara Student Center on Jan. 20. The weeklong celebration, Becoming a Just Community, was sponsored by Pitt’s Office of Cross Cultural and Leadership Development within the Office of Student Affairs.

VOLUNTEERING AT THE PHIPPS

About 530 Pitt students fanned out across Pittsburgh to perform volunteer projects on Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Among the projects were creating literacy packets for the Jumpstart Pittsburgh early literacy program; renovating the flooring in the community center of St. Matthew’s Church, 5322 Carnegie St., Lawrenceville; and organizing crafts and a social for the residents of Heritage Place, 5701 Phillips Ave., Squirrel Hill. Pictured, from left, are Pitt sophomores Taylor Montague and Dalyce Wilson and Pitt senior Taylor Medlock helping the horticultural staff at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, One Schenley Park, Oakland, install the Tropical Forest India Room.

CIVIL RIGHT ACTIVIST DIANE NASH SPEAKS

Civil rights leader Diane Nash spoke to Pitt students during a Jan. 17 evening in William Pitt Union’s Assembly Room. Nash was a student leader during the 1960s civil rights movement. Among her many efforts were the first successful civil rights campaign to desegregate lunch counters, held in Nashville, Tenn., and the founding of the movement’s Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.