SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Week activities will highlight January events at Wofford College. Other events include a lecture by board game creator and expert Rob Daviau and performances by Wofford’s Pulp Theatre.
All events listed are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise noted. Please check the online calendar at calendar.wofford.edu for frequent updates. For athletics events, please go to athletics.wofford.edu.
For more information, contact Laura Corbin at woffordnewsdirector@wofford.edu or 864-809-8963.
Wednesday, Jan. 15
Mug Painting
6-8 p.m., Campus Life Building
Wofford Activities Council and CREATE offer Wofford students the opportunity to paint coffee mugs with Hearts of Clay.
Wednesday, Jan. 15
Guest Lecture: Cooperation vs. Competition in Board Games
Speaker: Rob Daviau, creator of Risk 2210 AD, Pandemic Legacy and Mountains of Madness
6:30 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
A 20-year industry veteran, Daviau has worked on more than 80 published games. While at Hasbro Games for 14 years, he worked on Risk 2210 AD, Axis & Allies Pacific, Betrayal at House on the Hill, Star Wars Epic Duels, Heroscape, Clue DVD, Clue Harry Potter, Risk Star Wars, Risk Lord of the Rings and more. He was editor of Trivial Pursuit for eight years. In his solo career, he has produced Pandemic Legacy (Seasons 1, 2 and 3), Seafall, Mountains of Madness, Ultimate Werewolf Legacy, Ship Shape and Betrayal Legacy. Since 2016, Daviau also has been the chief restoration officer at Restoration Games. He also has taught game design at Hampshire College and New York University, has contributed articles to various publications on game design and has spoken at numerous conferences.
Friday, Jan. 17
MLK Week Event: Movie Night: “I Am Not Your Negro”
6 p.m., Spartanburg County Public Libraries Headquarters, 151 S. Church St., Spartanburg, S.C. 29306
“I Am Not Your Negro” is an award-winning 2016 documentary highlighting the life and work of novelist and activist James Baldwin. Sponsored by the City of Spartanburg.
Saturday, Jan. 18
MLK Week Event: Walk As One
9 a.m., Wofford College (starting point)
Take a short walk in downtown Spartanburg in solidarity as Martin Luther King Jr.’s “beloved community.” Participants should meet at 8:40 a.m. at Wofford’s main gate on North Church Street, near the Burwell Building; please wear Wofford gear. Sponsored by the City of Spartanburg.
Sunday, Jan. 19
MLK Week Event: Movie Night: “The Hate U Give”
6-8:30 p.m., Meadors Multicultural House, Stewart H. Johnson Greek Village
Based on a best-selling novel, “The Hate U Give” explores the intersectionality of police brutality and race. Sponsored by Wofford Men of Color.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: MLK Day of Service
All day, various locations
Join millions of Americans serving their communities today to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his ideals. Visit uwpiedmont.galaxydigital.com to register for opportunities. Sponsored by the United Way of the Piedmont and the City of Spartanburg. Wofford classes will not be held on this day so that students and faculty may participate in MLK Day of Service events.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: Authentic Relationships
9 a.m.-1 p.m., Gray-Jones Room, Burwell Building
Learn to evaluate misinformation about other identity groups and how to build bonds in this National Coalition Building Institute workshop. Lunch will be provided. RSVP by email to stukesje@wofford.edu. Sponsored by Wofford’s NCBI Team and The Space in the Mungo Center.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: Spirituality Meets Social Justice
10-11 a.m., Center for Community-Based Learning lobby, Michael S. Brown Village Center
We know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the drum major for social change, but do you know MLK the reverend? Learn more about how both of these two worlds intersected. Sponsored by Olivia Free, junior sociology and anthropology and Spanish major from Moncks Corner, S.C.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: Toiletry Kits for Homeless People
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., Sandor Teszler Library Seminar Room
MLK promoted the idea of “Agape Love,” which begins by loving others for their sakes. Come and provide assistance to local homeless people. Sponsored by April E. Grey, director of library collections, discovery and access services, Sandor Teszler Library.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: Nonviolent Communication
10:30 a.m.-noon, Franklin W. Olin Building, Room 207A
This program is an introduction to the “nonviolent communication method” by Marshall Rosenburg, including hands-on-activities with a focus on compassion. Sponsored by Dr. Begoña Caballero, dean of diversity and inclusion.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: Cradle to Career Experience
2-4 p.m., Franklin W. Olin Building, Room 207A
Join the Cradle to Career Experience and its interactive group activities to learn more about achievement disparities and equity related to the educational picture in Spartanburg County. RSVP is appreciated by email to caballerob@wofford.edu. Sponsored by the Spartanburg Academic Movement, the United Way of Piedmont and Dr. Begoña Caballero, dean of diversity and inclusion.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: African Dance
1:45-2:45 p.m., Richardson Physical Activities Building Dance Studio
Learn the history and witness the beauty of African dance, presented by former Alvin Ailey dancer Arialle Kennedy Smith of Spartanburg. Wear comfortable clothing to participate.
Monday, Jan. 20
MLK Week Event: MLK Unity Celebration
6:30 p.m., Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium
The MLK Unity Celebration is the culmination of the weekend’s events with featured speaker Dr. Gail Christopher, an award-winning social change agent. Sponsored by the City of Spartanburg.
Tuesday, Jan. 21
MLK Week Event: Community Conversations and Feedback
Time TBA, Spartanburg County Public Libraries Headquarters, 151 S. Church St., Spartanburg, S.C. 29306
Student researchers will share information related to public memory of racism and landscapes of commemoration on campus as a part their research for the grant-funded project “Acknowledging Our Past: Race, Landscape, and History.” Sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Humanities Research Grant and Dr. Rhiannon A. Leebrick, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
Mardi Gras Mask Decorating
6-8 p.m., Campus Life Building
Wofford Activities Council and CREATE provide materials for Wofford students to decorate a Mardi Gras mask.
Thursday, Jan. 23, through Saturday, Jan. 25
2020 Pulp Theatre Production: “Seminar”
8 p.m., Sallenger Sisters Black Box Theatre, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Wofford Theatre's 2020 Pulp Theatre production, “Seminar,” runs from January 23-25, at 8 p.m. in the Sallenger Sisters Black Box Theatre. Written by Pulitzer Prize nominee Theresa Rebeck, “Seminar” will be co-directed by Wofford juniors Kelly Kennedy and Savannah Talledo. Set in modern-day New York City, this Broadway comedy centers on four aspiring novelists and their professor, an internationally acclaimed writer whose methods are far from orthodox. Over the course of a ten-week writing seminar, desires and tensions flare as allegiances are sacrificed on the altar of ambition.
Pulp Theatre productions at Wofford are the culmination of intensive projects that take place over the course of the January Interim term, allowing students to take the lead in every aspect of theatrical production, from directing and performance to design and tech.
Tickets for this show are free, but seating is limited! Tickets will be available starting at 7 p.m. each evening in the lobby of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. They may not be reserved in advance. No late seating is permitted.
Wednesday, Jan. 29
Paint By Numbers
6-8 p.m., Campus Life Building
Wofford Activities Council and CREATE invite Wofford students to have fun with paint by numbers.
Thursday, Jan. 30
Last day of Interim; first day of spring semester is Monday, Feb. 3.
Gallery and Museum Exhibits
Tuesday, Jan. 21, through Friday, March 6
Gummy Labyrinth by Micah Tiffin, class of 2020
Richardson Family Art Gallery, Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts
Artist Talk, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20
Wofford senior Micah Tiffin, a humanities and studio art major with a minor in sociology and anthropology from Greenville, South Carolina, is Wofford’s latest Whetsell Fellow, which supports his exhibition. Tiffin says his paintings and sculptures in the Gummy Labyrinth “exemplify the struggle of re-entering the ‘real world’” after temporary daydreaming. He describes the exhibition: “I remember writing the same sentence hundreds of times over and over on paper. Ironically, I don’t remember what the sentence said. It was probably three lines long, about something I did or said that I shouldn’t have said or done. I was implanted on a park bench, facing away from where the others dug holes to China and chased one another up the slide. Luckily, by now I had learned how to escape into my own space. I daydreamed about playing games and my stuffed animal penguins that waited for me at home. I became an artist early, creating spaces that served as distractions. My installation is an ode to this temporary refuge.” The Whetsell Fellowship was established by Dr. William Whetsell in memory of his brother Dan Whetsell in order to annually facilitate a student’s study and creation of art. Each fellowship winner receives funding to work on and create his or her own pieces throughout the summer under the guidance of a professional mentor from the community.