Gracey Austin ’12
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1986, making this year the 25th anniversary of this celebrated day. In 1994, the government went a step further to honor MLK’s legacy and designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national day of service. Most schools across the nation have off on this holiday, yet the phrase, “A day on, not a day off” has been popularized in order to rally volunteers to spend their day off serving their community. At Episcopal, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of service falls on the long weekend between the first and next four days of Upper School mid-term exams. For many, this weekend is a crucial time for studying. Sean O’Reilly ’12 said, “I really wish we didn’t have exams the next week so I could serve the greater Philadelphia area.” Susan Swanson, Director of Community Outreach, explained that five years ago, before Upper School exams were moved to surround the three day weekend, “We used to have three groups that would go off campus in Upper School. Lower School didn’t go off-campus and the Middle School was invited to go off campus with the Upper School.” Swanson said they would start with service in the chapel for 20 minutes and then the groups would leave to serve at various places. The groups gathered back to the chapel after volunteering to wrap up the day. Swanson said, “This was before exams moved, but the attendance was [still] pretty minimal because it’s a long weekend so most people go away.” Justin Brandon, VI Form Dean remembered volunteering through the school on MLK day. “My first year, which was in 2006, was the only year I did a day of service on MLK day through the school. I felt there was excitement within the students that attended. We went to a job center and organized their clothes for people to use to go to job interviews,” said Brandon. Since the Lower School students do not volunteer off campus, Swanson explained that, “When I came eight years ago, Heather Patton-Graham and I, who was the Lower School chaplain at the time, decided to have a Lower School day of service at the Devon campus. We had six or seven different stations of things they could do that we could donate like making placemats or casseroles or different things.” Swanson said that because the attendance was very minimal at this event, the EAPA decided to move the event to Friday afternoon. “This year it’s Friday the 13th from 3-5 PM. It was really at the request of the EAPA ladies because they like to go away on the long weekend,” said Swanson. Swanson explained that this year, the Lower School MLK day will be held in the dining hall because attendance was so high last year due to the date switch. Despite the success of this Lower School event honoring the day of service, Upper School interest to serve on January 16th through the school is minimal. Swanson said, “Once we had exams surrounding it we stopped even offering anything because the attendance was so minimal anyway that we knew our students couldn’t spare a half an hour from studying.” Alex Smith ’12 said, “I used to do a lot of community service on MLK day when I was in Lower and Middle School but now I’m preoccupied with my work so it doesn’t give me time to volunteer.” Geoff Wagg, Head of Upper School said, “I’m not certain what the real impact is of the exams being moved at that time. It’s a three day weekend so I would hope people would still make time to volunteer.” Some Upper School students do still find the time to volunteer on the national day of service. Angela Saggiomo ’12 said, “I volunteer on MLK day even though I have to study for exams.” Charlie Caraher ’12 said, “My family and I usually volunteer on MLK day.” When asked what the importance of the MLK day of service is to Episcopal, Swanson said, “I mean, I think it’s a great idea, but we have days of service anyway that other schools don’t have. … If we didn’t have exams, I would certainly offer something, but based on the declining interest level even before exams, I wouldn’t offer too many things. I mean honestly there aren’t that many kids that do service here.” Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged all citizens to advocate for freedom and justice and teach non-violence in order to better American communities. The advocates of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service say that it is the perfect opportunity to answer MLK’s challenge. Although most Episcopal students may not be taking “a day off” but are busy studying for exams, finding time to volunteer is still encouraged. Swanson said, “You can only beat a dead horse so many times. If people aren’t going to come out for MLK day, they aren’t going to come out. Service is a hard sell.”