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Day of Peace comes to campus
By Tara Anderson
Staff Writer
Drum circles, quiet meditation, and chalk drawings on the patio were part of the "Day Without Violence/Day of Peace" event at the Student Center yesterday.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., campus groups set up booths in the Free Speech area behind the Student Center, selling buttons and bumper stickers and handing out information, while other students participated in drumming or just enjoyed the spring weather and festive atmosphere. Amnesty International, the Social Work Alliance, the Athena Club of LCC and Alpha Phi Omega all had tables for anyone interested in their organizations.
The event was sponsored by Students for Social Justice, a campus group that works with peace and justice issues.
"One of the main purposes of our group is to provide a forum for social justice issues," said Kristin Houle, a history junior and a founding member of the group.
"We just want to try and bring the campus together in a way they don't see each other very much," Houle said.
The event was originally organized at Earlham University in Indiana as a way to commemorate the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and has spread to other universities around the country.
Participation was possibly motivated by last week's racial incident involving a UK student who was threatened because of a letter she wrote to the Kentucky Kernel. A petition showing students' dissatisfaction with the University administration's handling of the event was circulated yesterday.
"The administration needs to educate the University as a whole on dealing with these problems," said Timothy Montgomery-Sebree, a biology junior who was taking the petition around the crowd.
Lexington Campus Chancellor Elisabeth Zinser briefly stopped by to speak to some of the students and circulate a memorandum from the administration condemning the incident.
"I think it's wonderful that this kind of conversation is going on at the campus," Zinser said. "I really admire the students for taking the leadership."
Local musician Tripp Bratton was asked to lead a drum circle on the grass at noon. Drums were provided or participants could bring their own.
"We're trying to allow people to see that solving the world's problems begins with learning to make beautiful music together," said Mike Dorn, a geography graduate student and one of the organizers of the event. About 12 people sat in a circle with drums of all sizes, cowbells, and a flute, while the crowd fluctuated around 30 or 40 students.
"Anybody can drum, whether they be old, young, black or white," Bratton said. "Drumming is the unspoken language."
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