On Friday, September 20th, students in Fawcett Library swarmed around a small whiteboard, sharpies in hand, ready to sign their names on a world map to accept the responsibility of advocating for worldwide peace. At a nearby table, a small mound of paper cranes began to form as signers combined efforts to enlarge the pile. In the midst of it all, Romana Quick, International Student Program Coordinator, stood handing out pocket-sized peace pledges to remind signers of their commitment.
The International Day of Peace, first hosted in 1981 on September 21st, is the United Nations’ designated day for humanity to commit to peace, accept differences, and contribute to building a culture of harmony and unity.
The International Student Program first hosted International Day of Peace last year, making this event their second year of helping faculty, staff, and students come together as a global community.
Mrs. Quick said, “The goal [of this event] is to bring awareness as a global society to being inclusive and to promote peace.”
This year’s event was hosted during lunch in Fawcett Library. The ISLs wrote out the United Nations peace pledge on a large world map, where students and faculty could take the pledge and sign their names. They held an origami crane making activity to recreate the story of 1000 cranes having the power to grant one wish. The origami symbolized signers’ active commitment to peace, and their duty as a global citizen to promote it.
Dillon Anabi (‘22) said, “[International Peace is] showing empathy across the world. It helps me become more obligated to do better things for people which then influences other people to also do peaceful and kind acts.”
Manek Khedia (‘21) said that after taking the pledge, she will try to be more passionate about “loving each other for their differences.”
Orion Lavin-Marz (‘20) said, “International Peace is an international effort to reach agreements without any means of violence. There is only so much each and every one of us can do, except for setting a culture of peace so that it’s conveyed to the world that the United States is a country that promotes international peace.”
The event offered an opportunity for students to reflect on how they can rise to their responsibilities as global citizens. International Day of Peace provided symbolic acts for the Webb community to join together in an effort to make global peace a common standard.
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