Sinclair Community College is recognizing the Season of Nonviolence, which started on Jan. 30 and will end on April 4, 2014.
The Season of Nonviolence was founded in 1996 by Dr. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, as a “yearly celebration of the philosophies of Mohandas Gandhi and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr,” according to Wikipedia.
“The Season of Nonviolence is a way for participants to understand that there is a peaceful means by which to address conflict in our world,” Ohio Fellows Advisor Tom Roberts said. “It’s an international celebration, and we’ve been doing it [at Sinclair] for about 10 years.”
The beginning of the Season marks the anniversary of the death of Gandhi, and the end of the Season on April 4 marks the anniversary of the death of Dr. King.
This year’s season is themed “Turning the Global Tide,” and is meant to honor the life of Nelson Mandela, Roberts said.
Roberts said students are encouraged to have conversations about how we can address things like different religious beliefs, resolving conflicts in a peaceful way and the environment. He also said that it’s a way to show students that nonviolence is a way of life, and not just something that we celebrate on Gandhi’s or Dr. King’s anniversary; it requires “constant vigilance.”
Sinclair will host different events, activities and presentations during the Season of Nonviolence, including the Golden Rule Workshop and the Peace Pole Project. This year, Sinclair will also be incorporating Earth Day into the celebration.
Sinclair’s News and Events web page describes the Golden Rule workshop as “an opportunity to encounter the Golden Rule in 13 of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions and to learn principles of interfaith dialogue.”
The Golden Rule workshop will take place on Feb. 18 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. in Building 7, Room 7006.
On April 4, there will be a closing ceremony at the stage area in Building 8. Highlights of the 2014 celebration will be discussed and a Peace Pole may be dedicated.
According to peacepoleproject.org, “a Peace Pole is a monument that displays the message ‘may peace prevail on earth’ in several different languages.”
The Peace Pole Project estimates there are more than 200,000 peace poles in every country throughout the world.
On April 21, in recognition of Earth Day, there will be an event at the stage area in Building 8, with speakers from the University of Dayton River Stewards and the Miami Conservancy District.
The River Stewards are part of the University of Dayton River Institute, and its mission is to, “build opportunities for the Dayton community to see our rivers as the strategic natural resource central to the communal, economic, aesthetic and ecological vitality of the region.”
The Miami Conservancy District’s core mission is flood protection, and their stated vision is “thriving communities, a healthy watershed and a higher quality of life, sustained by well- managed water resources throughout the watershed.”
The Miami Valley is home to the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer, which provides drinking water for approximately 2 million people in Southwest Ohio.
In addition to the speakers from University of Dayton and the Miami Conservancy District, there will be student displays and presentations related to Earth Day, as well as Earth Day-music, Roberts said.
The Season of Nonviolence is sponsored by the Ohio Fellows, Student Government Association and the Office of Campus Ministry.
For more information about the Season of Nonviolence, call (937) 512-2509.