From NYU Athletics
A pair of New York University student-athletes have been chosen to receive the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award. The 2020-21 recipients are senior basketball player Janean Cuffee (who also earned the award in 2019-20) and junior Dan Devine, a member of the Violets' cross country and track & field teams.
The award was established in order to recognize student-athletes who embody and exemplify the characteristics promoted by Dr. King's "vision of peace, persistence in purpose, and inspirational action," as well as sportsmanship either within or outside the NYU community.
Cuffee has continued to showcase inclusion of her peers in seeking justice through her efforts to drive voter enrollment during the November 2020 elections. Her efforts helped to engage a voter population which has historically been underrepresented. She empowered her peers to find their voices in states across the country, in many cases where a decision may have been made by the narrowest of margins which ultimately impacted the outcome of the election.
An avid supporter of NYU programs in support of justice, Cuffee served as a co-moderator for the "NYU Violets Using Their Voices" seminar on racial justice. In addition, she helped create a student-athlete affinity group for the support of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPoC) students on campus while also serving on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion working group as a student representative for NYU Athletics. Cuffee also spearheaded a donation drive within the NYU men's and women's basketball teams as well as the University Athletic Association (UAA) for the Black Lives Matter movement. She is in the process of founding the MLAC organization (Minority Leader Athlete Coalition) within NYU Athletics, with plans to model the social justice awareness organization for minorities across all of Division III athletics.
Devine, a first-time recipient, served as the NYU Langone Community Service Ambassador from Sept. 2019-May 2020. In this role, he organized weekly mile walks around the hospital for the patients and staff to promote fitness and wellness. He also researched programs for the health community to increase awareness of social issues and service opportunities, hosted a weekly Health Promotion Table, led service projects at the NYC Food Bank and Bowery Mission, and collaborated with NYU Liberal Studies to promote service activities for students.
At Langone, Devine also volunteered in the Ambulatory Surgery and Physical Therapy departments, totaling 130 hours of community service by delivering blood samples and aiding stroke patients with hand-eye coordination activities. He also currently serves as a Public Health Ambassador with NYU, serving as a role model for proper COVID-19 safety precautions and behavior and distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) to the NYU community as necessary. Devine participated as a COVID-19 Contact Tracer during the summer and volunteered the previous summer as a Congestive Heart Failure Volunteer for New York Presbyterian Hospital. Additionally, he has been involved in several meal-serving events with the NYC Food Bank.
"Janean and Dan personify the importance of servant leadership that Dr. King spoke about so many times throughout his life," said Stuart Robinson, NYU's Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Athletics. "Each of them is distinguished because they continue to give of themselves to help others or to see that their voices are heard. Janean and Dan are most deserving of this honor."
NYU is commemorating Dr. King's legacy by hosting a week-long schedule of special events and programs. The theme for this year's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Week, February 1-6, is "Chaos or Community" and is derived from Dr. King's final book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?"