For many students, the third Monday of January is just a day off from school. But Martin Luther King Jr. Day is much more than that, especially in the eyes of many in the ROJH community.

“Martin Luther King Day is a good day to celebrate the life and to honor the famous Martin Luther King Jr.,”  ELAR teacher and Basketball Coach Paige Patterson says.

ELAR teacher Tanisha Edwards says that “King is a great man who deserves to be celebrated.”

“It’s a great day to honor a phenomenal person,” Edwards says. “He treated people with equality, he was great, and when you think of civil rights, you think of him.”

Students such as 7th grader Ramon Lopez worries that MLK Day is not celebrated seriously enough.

“He had a pretty big impact, even though there is still racism,” Lopez says . “The day is probably not celebrated enough.”

Seventh grader Karlondra Smith echoes Lopez’s feelings.

“MLK Day is a wonderful day,” Smith says.