To Whom It May Concern:
In response to articles this semester that have blatantly misrepresented our organization, Peaceworkers, we, as the executive officers of the group, feel compelled to set the record straight. Our respected advisor, Dr. George Wolfe, did not create Peaceworkers and does not lead our meetings. Students formed Peaceworkers in response to the Iraq war to promote "peaceful and just interactions between individuals, organizations, and nations." However, as former members graduated, the group dwindled to only a few sporadic meetings attended by less than three people. We revived the group after attending a lobbying conference in Washington, D.C. Information about this conference can be found at www.fcnl.org/young_dc.htm.
National organizations we have supported over the past 10 months include: Friends Committee on National Legislation, Peace One Day, the Plowshares National Student Peace Conference, the School of the Americas Watch and the Salvation Army. Ball State student groups that we have either collaborated with or supported are: the NREM club, Spectrum, the Residence Hall Association (along with the Muncie Mission), the Ball State Civil Liberties Union and the Catholic Student Union. Please note that Peaceworkers was not involved with any partisan or anti-American organizations. Our group is open to everyone and currently has members with all different political and religious views.
The mission statement of Peaceworkers is to (1) promote non-violent resolution to social issues on the local, national and global level; (2) facilitate understanding between people of different races, religions, cultures or any social group; and (3) give back to the community through education and service projects. Projects and activities supporting this mission include: the FCNL Spring Lobby Weekend, P.R.O.U.D. week, Earth Week, International Day of Peace, an Interfaith dinner featuring a speech by Islamic scholar Dr. Moussalli, Box City, voter registration, Plowshares Peace Conference at Earlham College, an election party open to members of all political ideologies in our group, "Iron-Jawed Angels," a movie featuring Alice Paul and her quest for women's suffrage, bell-ringing for the Salvation Army, School of the Americas Watch protest in Georgia and an introductory lesson on Tai Chi, a relaxation technique.
We apologize for the list, but we felt the need to establish our exact agenda as the focus and integrity of our group has been questioned. We are extremely offended by being called terrorists, anti-American and anti-military because that is obviously not a truthful portrayal of our group. However, we were most offended that those writing articles discrediting Peaceworkers never contacted anyone from our group about our activities, attended a meeting or verified their allegations in any way. If you have any questions regarding our organization, please e-mail us at peaceworkers@bsu.edu or attend one of our meetings.
Peace,
Elyse Chudzynski
Hannah Davidson
Maggie Sobotka
Amy Whyde
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