Monday, Jan. 19 marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day, otherwise known as MLK Day, a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of January every year. Many Stanford students plan to use the three-day weekend to spend time with their friends, catch up on course content and travel around the state. 

While King’s birthday is on Jan. 15, MLK Day is observed on a Monday as per the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. 

Valerie Gu ’29 and her friends have been planning a roadtrip to Los Angeles for the past week. “Going off campus is very attractive to alot of people, because Stanford is kind of a bubble,” Gu said.

Other students find plans in activities that student clubs have organized. Hue Tran ’29 plans to attend the Pho Night social organized by the Vietnamese Student Association. “It is just something fun to do,” she said.

Some feel that the University doesn’t do enough to engage them over long weekends.

Tran suggested a food fair as one option for engagement over the break. She also felt some resources on the history of King and his activism would be interesting. 

However, Gu wasn’t sure if Stanford could do much: “I think a lot of students are good at making their own plans.”

Max Lee ’27 agreed. “I’m not really aware of things that Stanford provides over long weekends,” he said, attributing this to his long weekends “already being accounted for” by many students’ social plans.

Lee plans to use the extra day to play beach frisbee with some friends on the frisbee team. “I’m trying to get all my work done now so that I can have fun with my team and really engage with the culture over the long weekend.”