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St. Cloud State University
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NOVA Week spreads violence awareness
By Tsewang Sangmo Lama
Published:
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
The 14th Dalai Lama said, "Our action has a universal dimension, a potential impact on other's happiness...Spiritual qualities of love, compassion, patience, tolerance and forgiveness so on provide both for our happiness and other's happiness."
In what seems to be a society of ever-escalating violence, there is a need for nonviolent alternatives.
According to SCSU student organization NOVA (Nonviolent Alternatives), "The violence has causes, effects and the solutions." With these goals, NOVA marks the 21st annual celebration of NOVA week beginning today.
NOVA week is conducted every year to raise awareness and is designed to provide information about violence all around the world in trying to give people better solutions.
"NOVA will create awareness of ways of dealing other than violence," said Julie Cartwright of Multi-Cultural Student Services who serves as co-advisor to NOVA with Mike Sharp of the Advising Center.
"The NOVA events are efforts to illuminate violence especially at this time when the United States is ready to go to war in Iraq and the tensions in North Korea," said Ursula Arnold,senior, history major and chair of NOVA.
NOVA will also show video presentations bringing in different speakers.
Kani Xulan is the keynote speaker; his presentation will highlight "Hidden Secrets of War on Terrorism: Kurds and U.S policy in The Middle East." Xulam is a Kurd himself from Northern Kurdistan, Iraq. He is an activist in Washington, DC for Kurds that are oppressed in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Xulam formed the American Kurdish information network in 1993 for promotion of human rights of the Kurdish people. He went on a hunger strike and spent 221 days observing a vigil outside the Turkish Embassy.
Another key speaker featured is Ocean Robbins who founded (Youth for Environmental Sanity) YES when he was 16. Robbins has written the book "Choices for our Future: A Generation Rising for Life on Earth."
NOVA is also co-sponsoring a photo exhibition with University Programming Board called "Victims of the War for Justice and Freedom." The reception will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Atwood Gallery. With the SCSU chapter of Amnesty International, NOVA is co-sponsoring "War on Terrorism in Philippines."
The issues range from personal to global, from vegetarianism to peace building in East Timor, Afghanistan and the Philippines. NOVA will touch on violence targeted at the GLBT community and will also cover the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa through SCSU Organization for Prevention of Aids in Africa (OPAA).
"We all make choices in our lives that can affect globally," Cartwright said. "Violence affects us personally and globally."
Cartwright sees it as important to make efforts to educate the people from perspectives other than that of violence.
"We have to make sure that we are not on the one side of the story and critically analyze it," she said. She added that though it is political leaders who decide the means and outcome of the goals, "the people's voices can make difference."
"There needs to be a better understanding of nonviolence in society," Arnold added.
All the NOVA week programs are held in Atwood except for the discussion on "Nonviolent Alternatives to Military Action" which will be meeting in Great River Regional Library in downtown St. Cloud.
All the events are free to the students and public. NOVA meets Wednesdays at 1 p.m. in Atwood's Lotus Room.
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