Peace Camp 2007:

This week, students on DePauw's campus will gather at the annual Peace Camp to participate in meaningful conversations to encourage social justice.Peace Camp is sponsored by the Compton Center for Peace and Justice and its overall goal is to promote social justice. One way that this goal is achieved is by providing daily speakers and events to encourage dialogue among students. The speakers and events cover a variety of topics such as the war in Iraq, the current situation in Sudan, environmental sustainability and gender.

"These are topics and conversations that need to happen in this country," said Compton Center student intern junior Sarah Hughes. "Oftentimes at DePauw we find ourselves too busy to take part in these dialogues, which will affect us after we graduate."

There will also be activities such as movie screenings and a peace rally at the Greencastle Courthouse downtown on the Square during Peace Camp. Furthermore, each morning interns will be passing out hot chocolate, daily schedules and peace buttons to help raise awareness of the event around campus.

"I hope that everyone feels welcome to come, sit down and talk about issues that are important to them," said sophomore intern Tim Martin.

The camp began Monday morning and will continue through Friday. On Monday, sessions included "Iraq: A Bad Idea from the Start," "A Discussion with AAAS" and "Politics and Religion: A Discussion."

Hughes said Monday was a successful start of the week. At the first event, "Iraq: A Bad Idea from the Start," most of the chairs were full and throughout the day the interns passed out a lot of information to students passing by.

"It's always interesting to see new students look at Peace Camp and ask questions about what it is and then get excited about the speakers we have and the topics we are discussing," Hughes said.

The student interns at the Compton Center are jointly responsible for arranging the speakers and activities throughout the week. Each intern can choose issues that they are passionate about to address at the camp.

Martin helped organize the programs, "Decide for Yourself: Local Food Tasting" and "Sustainable Eating," which also occurred on Monday. These programs discussed the differences between locally- and seasonally-grown foods verses internationally-grown foods.

Hughes helped arrange the event "Melting the (Coffee) Pot: A Discussion of Privilege." This activity is on Thursday and begins with the Horatio Alger Walk. Through a series a questions, this activity demonstrates that students come to DePauw with different advantages and disadvantages. Following the walk will be a discussion of the activity. The interns participated in this activity during their training at the Compton Center and decided it would be a good activity to share with the campus.

Professors around campus have also taken an interest in Peace Camp. Today, education professor Sally Harvey-Koelpin will conduct a speech entitled "No Child Left Behind." During the speech, she will discuss the unintentional consequences of the legislation. Harvey-Koelpin said she hopes the camp will encourage social action among the DePauw community.

"Peace Camp is valuable because it draws attention to critical issues," said Harvey-Koelpin via e-mail. "It encourages positive conversation on these issues, which helps build a caring and compassionate community."

The Peace Camp continues 24 hours a day. Martin said the continuous discussion helps convey the significance of the theme of social justice to students.

"A lot of social activism on campus is isolated, but with Peace Camp there is event after event," Martin said. "This exposure makes the issues easier to digest because it occurs in a short amount of time."

The majority of the speakers and programs take place on the lawn of Academic Quad. During the time when speakers and programs are not scheduled, students are still welcome to stop by and get engaged in conversations about any issue they find important. Hughes said her favorite part of Peace Camp is seeing students engaged in honest and open discussion.

"I love walking to class and seeing people sitting on the sofas we have brought out just talking," Hughes said. "It's exciting to see students who usually wouldn't come together talking about social justice issues or an issue that they are passionate about."

Peace Camp has been held for at least six years. Coordinator at the Compton Center for Peace and Justice and Peace Camp advisor Valerie Rudolph said there are many reasons why the camp is continuously successful.

One reason is the freedom that the student interns have to work on projects that are important to them. Another factor that contributes to the success of Peace Camp is the support from faculty and staff. Many of the guest speakers are professors, and without their participation the camp would not be able to reach its full potential.

The location of Peace Camp has also influenced its success. Rudolph said that many times the topics discussed at Peace Camp are not addressed in living spaces or classrooms around campus. Therefore, moving the conversation to the Academic Quad encourages more dialogue.

This year, Peace Camp coincides with DePauw Discourse. Although the events are separately organized, they still overlap on many issues and both emphasize the importance of conversation among students, faculty and staff.

"I think that, combined with DePauw Discourse week, Peace Camp provides students a really good opportunity to understand the world outside of DePauw and their discipline by giving them a chance to interact with professors outside of the classroom setting," Hughes said.

The camp will conclude on Friday with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s speech "The Contract with Our Future," sponsored by DePauw Discourse.

Although Peace Camp only lasts a week, organizers and participants hope its impact will continue throughout the year.

"I hope that the camp will raise awareness of critical issues as well as offer the language of hope and possibility," Harvey-Koelpin said.