Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday should be a day of reflection and celebration. Students should keep this in mind during Monday’s holiday.

The university canceled classes during MLK Day for a three-year trial period, which ended last year. The fate of the holiday rested on student participation in commemorative events. After much consideration, the MSU Board of Trustees voted to cancel MLK Day classes indefinitely.

Many years ago, people put a lot of effort into making King’s birthday a national holiday. And many others at MSU worked hard to allow the observance at the university.

Just because we are now granted the day off doesn’t mean we should sit back and relax. Now, more than ever, we can use this day to honor King. Now we must prove it to ourselves and not the university.

The day should be a time to reflect.

We need to think about how far we have come, as well as how far we need to go.

We should remember the injustices King fought, and how we can continue to fight them.

It’s obvious we don’t live in a perfect world, and we have much to improve upon. MLK Day is an ideal opportunity to begin.

Many activities are designed to help us celebrate the day. One of them will be a commemorative march, which will start at 6 p.m. at the Union. Participants will walk to a convocation at Wharton Center, which starts at 7 p.m. Julianne Malveaux, an economist and syndicated columnist, is this year’s keynote speaker.

We urge students to go and participate in these events. Make a stand to change the future.

Group events aren’t for everyone. But each student should find his or her own way to commemorate King’s vision. If quiet contemplation is the way, then spend some time alone considering the possibilities of the dream.

Find your way to honor the day that has so much hope for the future.

The dream is yet to be fulfilled.