The seventh annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Student Conference will be held from 9 am. until noon Tuesday, April 4, at California State University, Fresno’s Satellite Student Union and at classrooms on campus.

The conference ends with an awards presentation, entertainment and a closing ceremony at 11:30 a.m. in the Peace Garden, where a monument to the late civil rights leader stands.

The conference, primarily for 7th- to12th-grade students from local schools, is composed of poster sessions and workshops on King, nonviolence, community building, diversity relations, contemporary social inequalities and related topics.

This year’s theme is “Celebrating Community and Grooming New Leaders.” During opening ceremonies at 9 o’clock, community leaders will speak and students will present their poster boards.

Workshops and ceremonies are free and open to the public, said. Dr. Timothy Kubal, an assistant professor of sociology who co-chairs the conference Planning Committee with Dr. Robert Mikell of the Africana and American Indian Studies Program.

“This year’s conference promises to be an exciting time for celebrating Dr. King’s legacy,” Kubal said.

The conference goals are to:

• Expose a group of students of diverse ethnic backgrounds to the legacy of Dr. King and the contemporary struggle for his dream through an understanding of nonviolent approaches to living together as a community.

• Provide instruction to students on applying conflict resolution through an understanding and awareness of human diversity.

• Foster civic engagement and encourage students to be involved in the struggle for equal rights for all.

For more information, contact Kubal at 559-278-5145 or tkubalRcsufresno.edu.