Convocation Speaker

Love was in the air on Monday when poet Elizabeth Alexander delivered a speech at Wittenberg University. The kind of love that, according to Alexander, fueled Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for equality.
Having been present at Dr. King’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech, Alexander was a first-hand witness to Dr. King’s teachings. Admittedly, she was just a baby being pushed in a stroller when she “marched” on Washington D.C. in 1963, but King’s message has stayed with her nonetheless, and Alexander came to share that message with the Wittenberg University campus at its annual Martin Luther King Jr. convocation.
“Love is having the strength to know you’re wrong, to know you deserve better,” Alexander firmly declares to the packed audience in Weaver Chapel, emphasizing the point with her hands as much as her words.
This love, according to Alexander, is what motivated Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for justice and equality. She explains that because of the love he had for his community and his people and the belief that they deserved better—deserved equality—he fought to make his message a reality.
Alexander reminds the audience, “It is the kind of love that takes work but still eludes us today.” Though we have come far since the day Dr. King stood at the nation’s capital and shared his dreams with the world, the struggle is not over. But Alexander is firm in her stance that we are well equipped to fight it, as she quotes from one of Dr. King’s speeches, “It is love that gives us a vision of what we move toward.”
That vision became a reality in 2009 when Barack Obama was elected the first African American president, and Alexander, an established poet and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Yale University, was asked to pen and recite a poem for his inauguration.
Alexander ended her speech at the university by reading the poem she wrote for the Obama inauguration, telling the audience that she had not planned on reading the poem again, thinking it had served its purpose. But its message aptly applies to more than just that one monumental occasion, and she felt it lent itself well to the teachings of Dr. King.
The poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” is at first a praise for the ordinary, the everyday man. But as Alexander reads out, “I need to see what’s on the other side. I know there’s something better down the road,” she reveals that it is also a praise for those who have fought to bring us where we are today. A praise for those like Martin Luther King Jr. The audience returned the praise with a standing ovation.

Convocation Speaker--rough draft

The impact of being present at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech is not one that can be captured in words or summed up in a story. Rather, it’s that kind of astounding moment that impacts a person so greatly it can change their life. One such example is Elizabeth Alexander, who continues to spread the message of those incredible words she heard spoken so many years ago – the message of equality and the force behind it, love.

Admittedly, Alexander was just a baby being pushed in a stroller when she “marched” on Washington D.C. in 1963, but King’s message has stayed with her nonetheless, and on January 18, Alexander came to share that message with the Wittenberg University campus at its annual Martin Luther King Jr. convocation.

“Love is having the strength to know you’re wrong, to know you deserve better,” Alexander firmly declares to the packed audience in Weaver Chapel, speaking as much with her hands as with words.

This love, according to Alexander, is what motivated Martin Luther King Jr. to fight for justice and equality. Because of the love he had for his community and his people and the belief that they deserved better—deserved equality—he fought to make his message a reality.

Alexander reminds the audience, “It is the kind of love that takes work but still eludes us today.” Though we have come far since the day Dr. King stood at the nation’s capital and shared his dreams with the world, the struggle is not over. But we’re well equipped to fight it, as Alexander quotes from one of Dr. King’s speeches, “It is love that gives us a vision of what we move toward.”

That vision became a reality in 2009 when Barack Obama was elected the first African American president, and Alexander, an established poet and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Yale University, was asked to pen and recite a poem for his inauguration.

Alexander ended her speech at the university by reading the poem she wrote for the Obama inauguration, telling the audience that she had not planned on reading the poem again, that she thought it had served its purpose. But its message aptly applies to more than just that one monumental occasion, and lends itself well to the teachings of Dr. King.

The poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” is a praise for the ordinary, the everyday man. But as Alexander reads out, “I need to see what’s on the other side. I know there’s something better down the road,” it becomes clear that it is also a praise for those who have fought to bring us where we are today. A praise for those like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The audience returned the praise with a standing ovation.

Classmate Interview

Some people dream of the stage; others wish for a whirlwind Hollywood romance or a family of four. Gretchen Dellner dreams of sitting in a five-star restaurant, sampling exotic food and making jabs at waiters and vegetarians. Gretchen Dellner dreams of being Anthony Bourdain.

Bourdain is a renowned chef and author who now travels the world on his show No Reservations. He makes his way across the globe restaurant-by -estaurant, offering viewers a vicarious taste of daring dishes and waiters a sarcastic comment or two. It is a life lived entirely by his own rules, the kind that Gretchen hopes to have one day.

Dellner, a senior English major at Wittenberg University, hasn’t quite figured out how she plans to fill Bourdain’s shoes. Like many who have reached senior-in-college status all too quickly, Dellner remains undecided about the future. When asked about career goals, she rattles off a few English-major standards—publishing, editing, etc.—while impatiently flicking blonde strands out of her eyes as she concentrates.

“I really just want to travel,” Dellner admits with a smile. It may seem like an ordinary goal, but the way Dellner tells it with a sudden sparkle in her brown eyes and new excitement in her voice it is clear that she has some extraordinary plans.

“I want to go to Spain,” she declares.

Dellner was born in Newark, Ohio, where she has lived in the same house her entire life and attended the same Catholic school for fourteen years. Her chosen college is only a few short hours away. Having spent her entire life in one place, Dellner’s future now revolves around her desire to go elsewhere. In her free time, Dellner says she can often be found watching the travel channel, where she was introduced to and immediately fascinated by Mr. Bourdain.

The connection between Dellner and Bourdain isn’t immediately apparent. Dellner has no plans to attend culinary school and be honored with a chef’s hat, nor does she appear particularly interested in a career as a writer—two of Bourdain’s most notable accomplishments. And while Bourdain is known for trying all kinds of daring (and often disgusting) kinds of foods, Dillner claims that her favorite is comfort food: mashed potatoes and meat loaf,. Of course, she does confess to a love of sushi, only slightly hindered by her inability to use chopsticks.

So where’s the connection? They clearly share a good sense of humor and have mastered the art of sarcasm, but it's the lifestyle that brings the two together. The freedom to spend a life traipsing across the world, doing what she loves and on her own agenda appears to be Dellner’s real desire, and it’s not hard to see why. The freedom. The fun. The food. What’s not to love?