College Relations

CONTACT --- Karen Cady at 978-542-7500 or karen.cady@salemstate.edu

Salem, Mass. - "Hip Hop Activism," "How We Stopped the Nuclear Power Industry," and "Spitting on Veterans: Old Myths, New Stories," are among the 50 workshops scheduled for the first-in-the-nation Peace College to be held April 16-18 at Salem State College. In partnership with the Fellowship of Reconciliation, North Shore Community College, the Babson Foundation and Stonyfield Yogurt, the Peace College will facilitate an in-depth dialogue about the nature, history and future of the peace movement.

Designed to offer a networking opportunity for generations of non-violent activists to share and build on ideas, the goal of the Peace College is to empower young activists with the history and resources needed to make social change. The Peace College is expected to revitalize old ideas and methods, and inspire new initiatives for the more experienced activists.

Afaf Stevens, of the East-West Peace Initiative, will deliver the keynote address at noon Friday, April 16. As an Iraqi-born woman living in the United States, Stevens will discuss the importance of education in striving to remove the myths, misunderstandings and misconceptions between the Western World and the Middle East. Kavitha Rao, a founding member of The Odyssey, a co-founder of The Common Fire Foundation, and a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation Board of Directors will deliver Saturday's keynote address.

Former United Nations chief weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, will speak at the opening dinner on Friday, April 16 at 6 p.m. During his mission to Iraq, Ritter supervised the search for weapons of mass destruction and was on the front lines of the ongoing battle against arms proliferation. His experience in enemy territory served as the basis for his book Endgame, which explored the shortcomings of American foreign policy in the Persian Gulf region and alternative approaches to handling the Iraqi crisis.

Jim Rice, managing editor of Sojourner's magazine and coordinator of Sojourners Peace Ministry, will present several workshops including, "The Pledge of Resistance: How nonviolence stopped Ronald Reagan from invading Central America." On Sunday morning, April 18, a peace march will be held from the Salem State College campus to downtown Salem.

Organizers anticipate that this will be the first building block for subsequent peace colleges that can be replicated by any organization, school or individual throughout the world. Participants will earn CEU's through Continuing Education and a Certificate of Peace by participating in this program. For more information and to register call (603) 498-6185 e-mail peacecollege@forusa.org. or visit www.salemstate.edu/peacecollege.