Geneseo’s Peace Action events for the International Day of Peace
Thumbnail courtesy of Peace Action
Members of the current executive board at the Peace Vigil this past Saturday, each holding their handmade sign.
This past Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, was the International Day of Peace, also known as World Peace Day. This date was established in 1981 by the United Nations and is celebrated worldwide to promote world peace—specifically focusing on ceasing war and violence. There is a universal website that can be accessed at International Day of Peace, which showcases a 100-day countdown to the date every year. The site also showcases events held worldwide, including a section specifically showcasing college and university events.
Here at SUNY Geneseo, a club is dedicated to promoting the ideals that this day represents known as Peace Action. The club was created to empower and educate students on issues such as world peace, nuclear weapons, injustices in the community, and works with the students and other local groups and communities to organize protests. The club is a part of the national chapter of Peace Action New York State, which upholds the same ideas and visions for world peace as Geneseo’s branch does. While the club is part of a national organization, they can independently choose their activities and the topics that they discuss. The executive board encourages members to come to club meetings with topics they would like to bring for open discussion or to know more about.
Peace Action hosted its own events in town for the International Day of Peace to spread awareness and information on the purpose of this day and bring more awareness to topical issues pertaining to war and violence. The day began with a 30-minute-long peace vigil, which is something that is done to create a dialogue of learning where many different goals can be embraced. For this peace vigil, the students used it as a demonstration to show their support for the progress towards peace. Students gathered on Main Street and brought handmade signs to show their support for world peace and share their own ideas about what it means to work towards what can often seem like such a lofty, abstract goal. Afterward, students moved down to the Interfaith Center off campus, which often hosts events alongside students and community members.
At the Interfaith Center students made peace cranes and painted personal rocks to the munch and crunch of some snacks. While the students and the executive board members were at the Interfaith Center, they selected and marked the future home for the “peace pole” and “peace rose” at the entrance of the Center. The Peace Pole is an internationally recognized symbol for bringing people together and bears the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth,” typically in different languages on each side of the pole. There are approximately 250,000 Peace Poles worldwide, each dedicated to the same message and goal. A traditional Peace Pole can be purchased directly from their website, but it is common for people to create their own unique Peace Pole as well. The story behind The Peace Rose is more complex but beautiful, containing an incredible message. The rose was created by French horticulturist Francis Meilland between the years 1935-1939. When Meilland foresaw the invasion of France by Germany amidst World War II, he sent cuttings of the rose to friends of his across the world to preserve his hard work. He later came up with the name of the rose after he offered to name the hybrid after a friend, and the friend declined, explaining that “peace” would be a much more meaningful name for this unique rose variety.
Both a Peace Pole and Peace Roses will be placed around the entrance of the Interfaith Center. The expected date for this installation is May of 2025, so be sure to keep an eye out for any events hosted by Peace Action around this upcoming May! Also, be sure to check out Peace Action’s weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in Bailey 246.