Ramaker, which now holds offices and classrooms, was originally built as a library.
As Lisa Wilson walked from her Choral Readers practice to Ramaker Library to study with her friends, she couldn’t help but feel heavy. When Lisa got back from the Choral Readers tour and heard the news of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death, she didn’t understand how that could happen. She knew that a lot of people didn’t like what he stood for, but Lisa admired the peacefulness that he preached.
Ever since she heard the news yesterday, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. She saw the brokenness of the country on tour and felt like she had to do something about it, but how could she? She was just one person.
Once she reached the library, she ran into her friends Donna and Jeffrey. Donna could tell that Lisa wasn’t feeling alright.
“What’s wrong, Lisa?” Donna asked. “You look like you’re thinking about something.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Lisa said. “I guess I’ve been feeling down all day. Ever since we arrived back from tour, really.”
“I understand,” said Jeffrey, “loss like this makes everything feel heavier on our shoulders. Martin Luther King Jr. was a symbol of peace despite all of the violence. It feels as if there’s no hope left.”
“And on top of that,” Lisa added, “his death has made people start riots and spread hate all over the country. I wish I could do something about it.”
“I think you guys may be making this bigger than it needs to be,” Donna said as they walked into the library, “We are just college students, we can’t do anything about it.”
Lisa and Jeffrey looked confused, which urged Donna to continue talking. Donna seemed annoyed, but she continued.
“We may be in a world that thrives on violence to make change, but there isn’t much that we can do about it.” Donna said “As long as we pray and hope for the best, it’ll be alright.”
After that, Donna and Jeffrey began studying and talking quietly, but Lisa still felt the urgency of the situation. It seemed like Donna didn’t really understand how Lisa was feeling, but Lisa still felt like there was something she wanted to do.
As Lisa headed back to Heemstra Hall for the night, she turned on the news channel on her television. Lisa flipped through channel after channel with stories of tragedies and violence everywhere. There seemed to be no coming back from this. How could such division be sewn deeper in just one day? She couldn’t wrap her mind around it.
Lisa knew that not many people agreed with her on campus, but it didn’t matter. She knew that black people deserved to be considered as equal to everyone else in society. God loved them all the same—it didn’t matter what color their skin was.
After a while, Lisa’s roommate, Deborah, walked in. Lisa sighed in relief to see her.
“I’m so happy to see you,” Lisa said, “it’s been hard today.”
“I know what you mean,” Deborah said, “there are so many mixed reactions. It seems like some people are almost relieved about it.”
Lisa could see the grief marking her roommate’s face.
“Donna said something to me today.” Lisa said “She said, ‘we need to pray and hope for the best, but that’s all we can do.’ I haven’t been able to stop thinking about wanting to do more.”
“Well, I think I disagree with her a bit.” Deborah said “While praying and hoping isn’t necessarily a bad thing, we can do more.”
“What can we do, then?” Lisa questioned.
“Well, MLK was a very compassionate person and preached loving your neighbor well. I think that’s what we need to try and do,” Deborah said.
Lisa sat with what her roommate had said for a minute.
“I think I understand a bit better now,” Lisa said, “I can do more by showing Christ-like love to everyone around me. Maybe that will help people around me begin to heal.”
“Yes. If we can begin to make a change on campus, God will use that for good.” Deborah said. “Don’t think of it as doing nothing, but as doing something small for the glory of God.”
“Thank you for that,” Lisa said, “It makes me feel a lot better knowing that there’s actually something that I can do about all of this.”
Lisa continued the rest of the day, trying to portray small acts of love all over campus. She knew she couldn’t do much, but something was better than nothing.
