A new club on campus, Students for Non-violence, has currently set its focus on organizing a symposium facilitated by student research. The symposium, taking place in October 2011, will reflect the research of students at various college campuses, allowing those participating to demonstrate what is most important to them in this non-violence movement.
Jerzy Nowak, founding director of the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, created the club as an interdisciplinary attempt at promoting a more peaceful, less violent atmosphere on the Tech campus and around the world.
The club's main goal, for now, is to recruit members to take part in the symposium, which was made possible by a $50,000 gift from the Lacy Foundation.
"We originally thought that we'd sponsor this nonviolence symposium, but since the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention is student-centered, I thought we'd explore whether there was sufficient interest to formulate a club and have this undertaking across the entire campus, including both graduate and undergraduate students, (so as to) preserve and continue the symposium," Nowak said.
Nowak, husband of April 16 shooting victim Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, said that he views students' participation in the club as an important step in ending violence. With this, he explained that community service would play a big role in the club.
One of the first service programs sponsored by the club will be Pennies for Peace.
According to John Welch, undergraduate vice president of the club and organizer of Pennies for Peace, the club will collect pennies at all the local schools and some local businesses between now and April. It intends to contribute the money to children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to partner with the Central Asia Institute to promote peace in unlikely places and, if possible, to build a school in one of the developing nations.
Students for Non-violence will try to raise awareness on the Tech campus along with the surrounding community, about nonviolence and ways to promote the practice. The club is currently in need of new members to help participate in spreading its message. According to club president Kristina Anderson, student members can reach across disciplines to target the projects and areas that are most in need of assistance."I truly believe in student capacity to impact the discussion on violence prevention on all scales," said Anderson, who was injured on April 16. "Student input and involvement in the discourse of safety is important to bring a new perspective to current leadership. Only a bottom-up initiative may educate as many as possible."
She explained that because the student body is most directly affected, they must be equally empowered to bring about change in this area.
Nowak also said that Students for Non-violence will value the student members' input in choosing a stance on controversial issues, such as gun control, and that Tech students should be a role model for the rest of the world to bring change to the belief that violence is the only option.
Leah Wickham, graduate vice president of the club and graduate assistant to the center, agreed.
"People only turn to violence when there isn't anything left. Just to care about people, to help them before they can't help themselves, can alter a potentially violent outcome."