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Sinclair Community College is hoping to promote nonviolence through campus events
The Season for Non-Violence started Jan. 30 and will run until April 4.
“It’s an international celebration. Not everyday of the 63 days, but throughout the period groups do events to recognize nonviolence and to recognize what nonviolence is all about,” Tom Roberts, advisor to Sinclair Ohio Fellows and Student Government said about the celebration.
He said the dates of the celebration correlate with the death dates of Mohandas Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“The goal is to recognize the contributions of Gandhi and King and to help students understand what nonviolence is all about. Then to have students participate in events that help them further understand nonviolence,” Roberts said.
Sinclair will be running events for the celebration.
The Season For Non-Violence started with a presentation by West Point graduate Captain Paul Chappell.
“At West Point, they were trained to be good warriors [and] to fight wars, he has since developed this presentation on how to wage peace,” Roberts said.
On Feb. 5, the Golden Rule Workshop was held as one of the events for the Non-Violence celebration.
The workshop, according to the event flyer, is an opportunity to encounter the Golden Rule in 13 of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions and to learn principles of interfaith dialogue.
“[It’s] a way to help students understand our commonalty versus our differences,” Roberts said.
The Workshop was lead by Dr. Barbara Battin and had a group of about 15 people he said.
Another event for the celebration is the “Free Land” presentation by Ariel Luckey, taking place on March 15.
“Luckey does the presentation Free Land, he wants people to understand that the land we live on was somebody else’s land,” Roberts said.
The “Free Land” presentation will take place on March 15 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Building 8 at the stage area and is free to students.
The Season for Non-Violence will end on April 4 with a closing ceremony.
“We have not decided on what will take place at the closing, but we will be a closing on April 4 at 4:30 p.m.,” Roberts said.
Roberts wants people to take away a better understanding of what nonviolence is.
“Nonviolence and to create a nonviolent environment is everybody’s responsibility and not just somebody else’s. We all can’t be Gandhi or King but we can in our way be instruments of peace in our classrooms, on the campus and in our communities,” he said.