Students have a reason to celebrate in the next few weeks, as Iowa State hosts many campus activities in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The events began yesterday with a carillon concert on Central Campus held in honor of Dr. King.

Ames High School will continue its holiday tradition by holding a community birthday celebration at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15, located in the cafeteria.

Campus events continue Jan. 18 with a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration featuring a piano, flute and oboe trio made up of student musicians.

Several guests will speak at the event, including Government of the Student Body President Emily Jensen and Black Student Alliance President Dimar Brown. ISU President Gregory Geoffroy will present the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Advancing One Community Awards.

The event will take place at 4 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union, with birthday cake distributed by ISU Dining.

“The event will focus on the life and celebration of Dr. King. I will be delivering a speech that centers on prosperity and socioeconomic progress and his personal vision pertaining to modern society,” Brown said.

The next campus event, titled “Forty Years of Black Politics,” is a panel discussion involving Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics; State Representative Wayne Ford, co-founder of the Brown and Black Presidential Forum; Mary Sawyer, professor of religious studies and the co-founder of the African-American Studies Program and Mary Ann Spicer, president of the Des Moines-based, non-partisan political action group called Sisters on Target.

“[This] event emerged from the deliberations of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday planning committee. The panel will provide a historical perspective on black political developments since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965,” Sawyer said.

“The Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 were two significant outcomes of the civil rights movement.”

Sawyer is the author of the book “The Dilemma of Black Politics” and said, like many Americans, she draws personal inspiration from Dr. King.

“[He] stood for justice. He was compassionate and committed; he was an individual who was willing to take risks to seek justice,” Sawyer said.

The fourth panelist, Spicer, is also the vice chair of the Iowa Employment Appeal Board, which deals in the affairs of reviewing the unemployment compensation and ensuring there is a fair distribution of equity between former employees and employers.

Spicer also previously taught in the Des Moines School District and has written guides on employment as well as recruitment templates.

The event will be moderated by Patricia Miller, program manager of the lectures program.

“The panel will have an Iowa scholarly perspective as well as a national perspective,” Miller said. “It should be fun.”

The event will be held on Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

The last event in this series commemorating Dr. King will take place on Feb. 1, with a keynote address by Prof. Jonathan Farley, titled, “Forty Years in the Wilderness: Martin Luther King and the Misdirection of the Negro.”

Farley is a professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and a former science fellow at Stanford University Center for International Security and Cooperation.

Farley received the Harvard Foundation’s Distinguished Scientist of the Year Award in achievements and contributions in the field of mathematics; he focuses on applying mathematics to problems involving counterterrorism and homeland security.

The event will take place in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union at 8 p.m.

As an extension of the Martin Luther King week festivities, the Corporation for National and Community Service launched “My MLK day,” a Web site where people can register to help with service projects, volunteer and report their own results. The Web site also has tools, tips, and aids for service projects.

More information can be found at My.mlkday.gov.