Peace and Conflict students shed light on Reconciliation Day

On Thursday, April 11th from 9-10pm, the MBR Amphitheater will transform into a glowing globe. As part of Reconciliation Day, students are encouraged to place a candle on a conflict or peace-building effort that is taking place in the world. Alongside peers, faculty and fellow community members, students will get the chance to informally discuss what reconciliation and peace really mean both within our community and on an international scale.

The event is presented by the newly formed, student-driven organization Network for Peace and Conflict Management (NPCM). NPCM is dedicated to supporting the PLU community in pursuing conversations and practices in peace building and conflict management. While the leadership and the growing membership have various majors and minors, each is dedicated to understanding peace, engaging community and helping to manage conflict. Conflict Studies students Sydney Barry, Sarah Johnson, Anna McCracken, Chelsea Paulsen and Rachel Samardich currently lead the organization.

“In this already stressful and fast paced world, this event is meant to be a refreshing break to instill hope and peace about our ever-changing world,” Paulsen writes.

This is the first Reconciliation Day being celebrated and is planned to become an annual event. The organization is already planning the second annual Community Dialogue Day (formally the Day of Dialogue) for the 2013-2014 academic year, Community Dialogue Day is committed to building relationships among PLU campus members and members of the greater Parkland area to assist in the facilitation of difficult conversations. NPCM has already connected with local peace and conflict practitioners to establish a system for on campus peer mediation training and for members to facilitate a range of difficult conversations. The longer-term vision for the Network is a fully operational Center.

This event and others are part of Communication and Theater week, a week of programs that provides opportunities to learn about faculty and student work; celebrate student accomplishments and provide opportunities to network with internship and employment partners. The week has a wide variety of events, all of which are free and open to the public.