A Peaceful November

Our Peace Corps Fellows planted a peace pole on Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, on the north side of Old Main - the first building on the University of Arizona campus. It was an idea conceived in July 2007 in Flagstaff at the Arizona AmeriCorps conference. We heard Terri Mansfield, who heads the Arizona Department of Peace Campaign who told us there's a peace pole in a conference room at the Pentagon and one in Iraq and another 200,000 poles around the world. Steven and Adam thought, "why not?" and embarked on a 14 month journey to raise funds, locate it and seek approvals.

Becca and the other students planned a meaningful ceremony with dignataries, inspirational speakers, a Tohono O'odham blessing by the tribal elder and CESL and other students speaking the words, "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in their native languages. Becca also led the effort to make many, many oragami cranes, a symbol of peace that comes out of Hiroshima. The cranes were strung among the trees.

The site is a lovely grove of trees. It is a point of welcome for visitors, it is near the CESL building which hosts international students and scholars, andthe location is contemplative and historic, and pretty far off the path for the skateboarders that plague a lot of the campus property. The ceremony was held in International Education Week, the day before the 45th assassination of John F. Kennedy, who created U.S. Peace Corps.

My dear friend Bert argues it is symbolic and won't do anything....without further action. We agree, and invite you to take a peaceful action today.

You can see an Arizona Public Media/ KUAT video of some of the ceremony courtesy of Anna Latta by clicking on the title of this entry above.