text: 2002 IAP MLK Seminar | MIT MLK Visiting Scholars & Professors Program
  View from Killian Court of MLK Design Seminar Exhibit in Lobby 10, 2002. Source: Tobie Weiner, Will Lark
  Professor Tobie Weiner, Will Lark
  Robert J. Sales, MIT News Office, 20 January 2002
  Forty-two MIT and Wellesley College students are working on three projects as part of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. IAP Design Seminar. The event culminates in an artistic installation to coincide with MIT's annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. King.
  The three-part installation, which will be on display in Lobby 10 from Friday through Feb. 10, provides a forum for the students to express their thoughts on civil and human rights, racism, justice and the principles of Dr. King. Alexandra Awai, a sophomore in biology, and Raymond Morales, a senior in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), are directing the group.
  "In today's politically correct world, we are led to believe that we live the dream of total equality and justice; however, this has not yet been realized," says their theme statement. "Our installation is a reminder of the contradiction that exists between today's reality and the ideal we strive to achieve. It celebrates the continuing struggle for civil rights that will bring Dr. King's dream to fruition."
  Another group, directed by Terrence Strader (also a sophomore in EECS), is creating a slide show and video. They will discuss race and equality at a forum tonight from 6-8 p.m. in Room 4-231.
  The overall student leader for the class is Will Lark, a junior in mechanical engineering. The instructor is Tobie Weiner, undergraduate administrator in the Department of Political Science.
  Sarah H. Wright, MIT News Office, 6 February 2002
  The dramatic installation in Lobby 10 honoring the life, work and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. combines a larger-than-life silhouette portrait of Dr. King with posed, life-sized manikins and a path into a "minority circle" designed to guide viewer/participants in seeing both the dream and the historical realities of race relations in America.
  The installation is the product of the IAP Martin Luther King design seminar led by Tobie Weiner, undergraduate administrator in the Department of Political Science, in collaboration with students. It runs through Sunday, Feb. 10.
  The student designers said in a collectively written statement, "In today's politically correct world, we are led to believe that we live the dream of total equality and justice; however, this has not yet been realized. Our installation is a reminder of the contradiction that exists between today's reality and the ideal we strive to achieve. It celebrates the continuing struggle for civil rights that will bring Dr. King's dream to fruition.
  "The path to this dream has been darkened by hatred and ignorance throughout the history of this country, but it is illuminated by the love and wisdom of the many proponents of justice our nation has seen. The MIT community forms an important element of the social and technical vanguard, and with this position comes the great responsibility of helping to lead the struggle. The installation in Lobby 10 is both a call to action and a commemoration of one of America's greatest leaders."
  The students who participated in the MLK design seminar are holding a forum tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room 4-370 to show one of the videos they made in the seminar and to discuss race relations.
  The 28th annual breakfast celebrating Dr. King's life and legacy will be held this Friday, Feb. 8 at 7:30 a.m. in Morss Hall in Walker Memorial. This year's speaker is television correspondent, author and political commentator Tavis Smiley. He will speak on the theme of this year's celebration, "From Dreams to Reality: The Illusion of Full Inclusion."