Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 68 years old today.

What would he think of the United States in 1997, 29 years after his assassination? What would he think of Iowa State? Has his dream of a peaceful, prosperous America been fulfilled?

The dream King had has been represented by a roller coaster of events in our world, our society, our university since his death in 1968.

However, in light of some of the events that took place on campus last semester, King’s birthday is a time to remember a great American leader who dedicated himself to the rights of the poor, the disadvantaged and the racially oppressed.

It is a time to reflect on the positive aspects of our culture and how our society’s views of its citizens has changed since King’s era.

Today is a day to remember a leader who opened everyone’s eyes to the harsh realities of an American society in the 1960s — realities that still exist today.

As America’s most celebrated civil rights leader, King is remembered, among other things, for organizing the Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama and leading a non-violent Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

King was and still is a hero, not for those he represented, but for each and every one of us. He has left us a dream to fulfill — his dream and ours for a society that lives among each other as a better people.

Iowa State will commemorate the Nobel Peace Prize winner and his achievements over the next week through a series of events. The university community would benefit greatly to attend all or any of these or even just to read up on King and the dream he has left us to fulfill.