Students, faculty and DeKalb citizens gathered in the Stevenson Towers North lobby to participate in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative march Thursday afternoon.

The 15th annual march and celebration, titled “Honoring A King: In Spirit And In Truth,” began at 3:30 p.m. at Stevenson Towers North and ended at the MLK Commons. The celebration was held at 4:30 p.m. at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

About 70 participants began the march, but as the marchers made their way to the MLK Commons, more supporters joined in and numbers increased to more than 150.

“It’s impressive that the crowd continues to turn out annually and grow annually despite the conditions outside,” said senior history major Andrew Nelms, Student Association senate speaker.

“Certainly this is one of the greatest events NIU holds in the course of the year to show unity and, of course, to memorialize the legacy of Dr. King,” he said.

Despite the holiday’s positive response, not all students are aware Dr. King’s effect on American society.

“Everybody pretty much looks at it as a day off. We learned about it in school, but didn’t pay close attention to it,” said Whitney Hughes, a junior child development major.

On Nov. 2, 1983, former President Ronald Reagan signed a bill to honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a federal holiday.

Seven years later, on Jan. 20, 1993, the day was celebrated for the first time in 50 states. Large corporations and federal and state agencies celebrate the day by closing down, but fewer than three of 10 smaller companies give their employees the day off, according to www.blacknews.com.

“Not enough students outside of NAACP participate in the march. I think that the university should do a whole lot more for his day,” said Tamara Duncan, a senior journalism major who attended the march.

Many groups rally together to encourage volunteerism and civic engagement in honor of King’s passion for social awareness.

“After Martin Luther King passed, they started the ‘day on, not a day off’ campaign,” Duncan said.

Maurice Thomas, founder of the NIU Martin Luther King Jr. march, participated in the day’s activities, including the celebration that took place after the march.

“It is now 15 years that NIU has continued to show commitment to Dr. King’s drive of bringing forth unity, peace and justice,” Thomas said. “I appreciate that, and I will always come and be a part of something that is purposeful.”

Though apathy causes some students to dismiss the holiday as just another day, a large number of students take the holiday very seriously.

“It’s like somebody forgetting your birthday every year,” said Timothy Jones, senior business major. “That’s how I feel when we just set aside one day out of the whole year – it’s just like waking up Christmas morning and not having anything under the tree.”