Students observed Peace One Day yesterday with a series of events designed to promote a global ceasefire and foster awareness of the global peace movement.
The day featured a full slate of student-led activities and performances on the Res Quad, including a documentary film screening, an afternoon gathering to form a human peace sign and a keynote address by international journalist Anne Nelson, a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.
A number of student groups, Greek organizations and sports groups spread out on the Res Quad at noon in recognition of the day. Tufts Engineers without Borders; Jumbo Janitor Alliance; Zeta Psi fraternity and its Peace Games program; and Chi Omega sorority were among the groups participating.
Res Quad activities included performances by the Beelzebubs and Jackson Jills a capella groups, as well as B.E.A.T.S., Tufts' percussion ensemble, followed by an address by Reverend Kerrie Harthan.
Jeremy Gilley's film, "Peace One Day," was screened during the midday events and in an encore evening showing.
The Crafts House provided a "peace banner," featuring numerous student signatures and handprints designed to foster student involvement and awareness about the event's purpose.
"The peace banner is a physical representation of what we're trying to accomplish today," Wright said. "It's a great way to tangibly show us working together for peace."
In the early evening, a group of about 40 students gathered outside Tisch Library to form a human peace sign.
The participants who made up the sign came dressed in different colors to signify people with different backgrounds and beliefs coming together in support of peace.
"Peace is an abstract idea and the forming of a human peace sign is a concrete example of people coming together," Wright said.
Junior Christina Kay, who participated in the formation of the human peace sign, saw it as an important declaration of solidarity. "I thought it was a cool symbol we can do to show that people at Tufts are supporting peace," she said.
Freshman Alex Metzger saw it as an important reminder of world issues. "I think that peace is a really good thing to support and recognizing it keeps us conscious about where there are still wars and fights in human society," he said.
The United Nations chose Sept. 21 as the annual International Day of Peace in 1981. In 1991, British filmmaker Gilley started Peace One Day, tweaking the UN's designation to have a more concrete focus on a global ceasefire.
This marks the first year that the university recognized Peace One Day. The event stemmed from freshman Lindsey Wright, who was inspired to bring the celebration to Tufts after Gilley visited her high school.
"We managed to make my dream of celebrating this event a reality," she said.
The event was sponsored by the Peace and Justice Studies, International Relations and Communications and Media Studies Programs and the Office of Undergraduate Education.
The scale of the events was restricted this year due to time constraints. Planning began when Wright, arriving on campus as a freshman, started looking into celebrating Peace One Day at Tufts for the first time. She hopes that with the benefit of more planning time, organizers will be able to expand the celebration next year.
Senior Lauren Morris and junior Kate Naranjo served as Wright's co-coordinators. Assistant Director of Peace and Justice Studies Dale Bryan and International Relations Program Administrator Moira Todd were also involved in setting the day's productions in motion.
Wright indicated that she was pleased with the response to the day, and to the human peace sign initiative. "The response was really positive and people were very into the idea," she said.
Morris expressed hope that the event will become a tradition at Tufts and will continue to expand. `"We want to make this a big event for the Tufts campus. We're this great school that promotes internationalism and this is another way we can show that," Morris said.
Freshman Howard Levine, a spectator on the Res Quad, expressed similar sentiments. "It's a great idea and an interesting proposition for Tufts," he said. "Hopefully it will gain global following."
