Community Day will offer a big buffet of arts, entertainment and knowledge
Additional programs and performances have been announced for Community Day, an all-day celebration when Stanford invites neighbors onto campus to enjoy dozens of family-oriented activities hosted by groups throughout the university. All activities are free and will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 15.
Taiko master Kenny Endo will perform with Stanford Taiko in White Plaza at 3:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by Stanford Lively Arts, in partnership with the Student Organizing Committee for the Arts (SOCA). Preceding the performance will be a campus drum line departing from the Oval at 2:30 p.m. that will wind through campus and student housing en route to White Plaza, where SOCA's annual fair featuring live entertainment and art exhibitions, called "An Art Affair," will take place.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's speech "The Other America," which he delivered at Stanford, the Aurora Forum is sponsoring a screening of that speech in Memorial Auditorium at 2 p.m. Following the screening, a public conversation about King's call for economic justice on that day, April 14, 1967, will be led by Aurora Forum director Mark Gonnerman; Bernard Lafayette, director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island; and Thomas Jackson, a history professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Although now held every other year, Community Day will continue traditions such as a university public worship at 10 a.m. in Memorial Church, followed at 11 a.m. by the Founders' Celebration, which begins with a musical procession from the top of the Oval down Palm Drive to the Stanford Family Mausoleum. The procession is open to all, and there will be a wreath-laying ceremony and student speeches at the Mausoleum.
In addition, more than a dozen groups will take part in a science fair that will occupy both the Science and Engineering Quad and the Clark Center. Plenty of booths, displays and activities will cover a wide range of interests, from the arts and athletics to food, health, culture and education.
Another Community Day tradition is faculty lectures. Among this year's six speakers will be Professor Richard Myers, chair of the genetics department in the School of Medicine, who will discuss the sequencing of the human genome. Channing Robertson, professor of chemical engineering, will talk about new developments at Stanford in various scientific fields, such as biotechnology and robotics.
Tours of various parts of campus, as well as of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, will be offered. Also at 2 p.m., a panel discussion featuring a cross-section of members from the Stanford and Palo Alto communities will be held in the Arrillaga Alumni Center. The event, "Palo Alto and Stanford: Climate Change in Our Backyard," will focus on ways to team up on environmental issues such as energy efficiency and sustainability. Panelists from Stanford will include Jean McCown, director of community relations; Chris Christofferson, associate vice provost for facilities; and Jeremy Carl, research fellow in the Program on Energy and Sustainable Development.
Volunteers are needed to help Stanford Events staff coordinate and communicate with other volunteers throughout campus on Community Day. To help out, contact Kim Hoskinson at 723-5417.
For a complete schedule of activities and additional information, visit http://communityday.stanford.edu/.
