Peace Mob

"Peace Mob" Set to Descend on University Green
Contact: Emily Mastroianni (BSU Center for Peace & Conflict Studies)
285-1622; peacecenter@bsu.edu

Traditionally, April has been a violent month in the United States with events including, for instance, the Columbine High School shooting, the Virginia Tech University massacre, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Waco (Texas) Davidian Standoff. To promote a message of nonviolence during April 2011, the Ball State University (BSU) Center for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPCS) in collaboration with BSU's Oxfam Chapter and several other student organizations are hosting a Peace Fair on Wednesday, April 13.

The Peace Fair will begin at noon with a "flash mob" (i.e., the sudden assembly of a large group of people) event sponsored by the CPCS in which at least 100 BSU faculty, staff members, and students will stand in formation to create a human peace sign on the University Green. Participants also will release environmentally friendly balloons in remembrance of individuals in the United States who have been affected by violence in the past and to promote a day of peace on our campus.

To participate in the human peace sign, please email Emily Mastroianni (peacecenter@bsu.edu) by Friday, April 1st or sign up at:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/bsugmail.net/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dFhtNXNqaHBsRzRSdnlUTWRRREJzaFE6MQ#gid=0

For the remainder of the afternoon on April 13, students and other members of BSU can visit student organization sponsored booths and participate in activities focused on world poverty. Along with the CPCS and Oxfam, the following student groups will host activities, including tie-dying and henna tattoo art, at the Fair: Amnesty International, the Social Justice League, Nuru at Ball State and several others. Please email Megan Whitacre at oxfambsu@gmail.com if you are interested in hosting a booth. Learning more about poverty is one-way students can take a step towards being peacemakers both on campus and in the community.

This is the third consecutive year that the BSU Peace Center has hosted an event in April to promote nonviolence as a positive alternative to resolving conflict. During the month of April, Bracken library will host a book display on the topic of peace featuring peace activists and peace movements.