2008 Woodie Awards
JustPeace Heightens Social Awareness
Liz Harris
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: Features
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JustPeace, a student organization invested in raising social awareness and promoting activism, has gradually gained recognition on campus. The group plans to confront a number of issues this semester and will establish itself as an official club, pending Student Government approval.
JustPeace extends from a peace and justice forum held on campus last year; professors and students outside Manhattan presented information about raising social awareness and activism at colleges. After the conference, students Katie Meyer, Jess Breen, Nate Mehlman, and Elysa Fein created an informal discussion group that grappled with contemporary social problems. At the time, they did not intend to form an official club or assign leadership positions.
JustPeace's main project so far this semester was the Darfur Rally in Central Park on September 17, but the group began work on the issue last fall. Students created a mock refugee camp on the quad, collected petition signatures, and showed Hotel Rwanda and a film about Darfur.
They expanded the Darfur effort, however, and attracted more attention in Spring 2006 when students protested at a rally in Washington DC. At the end of the academic year, the group wrote a constitution and met for the first time this semester on September 18. Instead of electing a president, Dominick Mach, Katie Meyer, and Melissa Pauls act as discussion facilitators, Emily Clyne is Treasurer, and Lisa LoFaso serves as Secretary.
JustPeace plans to address multiple social issues this semester and formed committees at a meeting held last Wednesday. Students will continue to fight against homelessness and hunger, genocide, Sodexo's lack of support for vegans, and HIV/AIDS. In October they also plan to attend the Green Festival, an environmental expo in Washington DC.
Katie Meyer, a Discussion Facilitator, was pleased with the group's enthusiasm. She said, "JustPeace is an important part of Manhattan's campus because it's a social group invested in taking action, and we are fortunate enough to have members willing to take large roles. You can definitely see that JustPeace's efforts are spilling over onto the campus; people are signing our petitions and attending events. We've had people come up to us and say they didn't even know what Darfur was before the rally or the T-shirts."
JustPeace extends from a peace and justice forum held on campus last year; professors and students outside Manhattan presented information about raising social awareness and activism at colleges. After the conference, students Katie Meyer, Jess Breen, Nate Mehlman, and Elysa Fein created an informal discussion group that grappled with contemporary social problems. At the time, they did not intend to form an official club or assign leadership positions.
JustPeace's main project so far this semester was the Darfur Rally in Central Park on September 17, but the group began work on the issue last fall. Students created a mock refugee camp on the quad, collected petition signatures, and showed Hotel Rwanda and a film about Darfur.
They expanded the Darfur effort, however, and attracted more attention in Spring 2006 when students protested at a rally in Washington DC. At the end of the academic year, the group wrote a constitution and met for the first time this semester on September 18. Instead of electing a president, Dominick Mach, Katie Meyer, and Melissa Pauls act as discussion facilitators, Emily Clyne is Treasurer, and Lisa LoFaso serves as Secretary.
JustPeace plans to address multiple social issues this semester and formed committees at a meeting held last Wednesday. Students will continue to fight against homelessness and hunger, genocide, Sodexo's lack of support for vegans, and HIV/AIDS. In October they also plan to attend the Green Festival, an environmental expo in Washington DC.
Katie Meyer, a Discussion Facilitator, was pleased with the group's enthusiasm. She said, "JustPeace is an important part of Manhattan's campus because it's a social group invested in taking action, and we are fortunate enough to have members willing to take large roles. You can definitely see that JustPeace's efforts are spilling over onto the campus; people are signing our petitions and attending events. We've had people come up to us and say they didn't even know what Darfur was before the rally or the T-shirts."