As America prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King III will speak about how events in 1963 have shaped his life at DePauw University.
King, the son of the late Martin Luther King Jr., will speak at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night in Meharry Hall. The lecture, which is part of the Timothy and Sharon Ubben Lecture Series, is titled "Reflections on the 50th Anniversary of Two Pivotal Events: My Father's 'Dream' and JFK in Dallas." Doors will open for students, faculty and staff at 6:45 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the general public.
"We contemplated moving to Kresge [Auditorium], but the play ["The Women"] opens that night," Ken Owen, executive director of media relations and Ubben Lecture coordinator, said.
"What I was worried about was our event was probably going to let up while the play was still going on," Owen said. "The kids have worked so hard on the production. The last thing I wanted to do is screw up the play. When we booked this, we were kind of late to the party."
Meharry is the next largest venue available at DePauw behind Kresge.
"What we don't have is an 800-seat venue, that kind of sweet spot in the middle of Meharry, which is close to 500, Moore [Theatre], which is about 420, and Kresge, which is 1,440," Owen said.
Overflow seating will be in the Union Building Ballroom, which will have a live video feed.
"I think we'll have a nice robust full house," Owen said. "I'd be surprised if we didn't fill."
Owen said that he had one student tell him, "It will be like being with royalty." He believes that for this reason, there will be a decent student presence at the event.
"There's this sense that he is someone who represents something very large," he said.
Owen has allotted an extra long session for the question and answer, with approximately 45 minutes or so. He also mentioned that microphones will be in the aisles for those wishing to ask King a question.
"I want to get as many questions in there as I can," Owen said.
Junior Lucy Gough is excited about the opportunity to see King speak.
"I'm interested in seeing how he has furthered his father's legacy and seeing what causes he's individually invested in," Gough said.
First-year Emily Nasseff echoed Gough's sentiments.
"Since his dad contributed so much to society," Nasseff said, "I think it's really great that we're getting a chance to speak and hear his experiences."