Martin Luther King Jr. events inspire U-46 students

In partnership with the city of Elgin's Human Relations Commission, Elgin Area School District U-46 students honored Martin Luther King Jr. on Saturday, Jan. 14 through Monday, Jan. 16.

The 2017 theme for the weekend celebration was "Nonviolence is the answer … The foundation of such method is love."

This year's celebration included an event on Sunday for fourth- through 12th-graders who submitted essays to participate in a Socratic seminar, a collaborative, intellectual dialogue facilitated with open-ended questions about a text and/or topic.

At Larkin High School, 50 U-46 students discussed how humans resolve conflict throughout their lives. The seminar provided an opportunity for today's generation to share what they can do to overcome revenge, aggression and retaliation to make nonviolence a reality in conflict resolution.

The day continued with a public program that celebrated the local community's commitment to King's legacy at the Hemmens Cultural Center.

Four U-46 seniors were announced as the recipients of the 2017 Dr. King Scholarship, along with celebrating the Socratic seminar and art contest award winners. The list of U-46 winners are below.

• 2017 Dr. King Scholarship winners are: first place, Olivia Clark, Elgin High School, $1,000; second place, Jada Brown, Larkin High School, $500; third place, Joseph Strom, Larkin High School, $500; and fourth place, Xavier Morris, South Elgin High School, $350.

• Socratic Seminar winners for the elementary and middle school are: first place, Rhea Mistry, fifth-grader at Timber Trails Elementary School in Hoffman Estates; second place, Tarani Kalagara, fifth-grader at Liberty Elementary School in Bartlett; and third place: Taylor Heard, eighth-grader at Tefft Middle School in Bartlett.

• Socratic Seminar winners for the high school are: first place, Nicole Sanchez, sophomore at South Elgin High School; second place, Lesly Rodriguez, sophomore at South Elgin High School; and third place, Michelle Leon, sophomore at South Elgin High School.

• The Art Contest winners for kindergarten to third grade are: Emersun Garrett, second-grader at Hilltop Elementary School in Elgin; and Erick Hinds, third-grader at Century Oaks Elementary School in Elgin.

• The Art Contest winners for fourth to sixth grade are: Beverly Yu, fourth-grader at Bartlett Elementary School; and Rocio Montano, sixth-grader at Channing Elementary School in Elgin.

• The Art Contest winners for seventh to eighth grade is Brianna Yu, seventh-grader at Eastview Middle School in Bartlett.

• The Art Contest winners for ninth to 12th grade are: Andres Dominguez, sophomore at Larkin High School in Elgin; and Britney Yu, sophomore at Bartlett High School.