A panel presentation with many prominent campus and community leaders Thursday night at Pruis Hall discussed nonviolence in schools and peaceful conflict resolution.
Ball State President Jo Ann Gora moderated the discussion, which took place at 7 p.m., and included prominent community members such as Eric King, Muncie Community Schools superintendent; Bart Peterson, former Indianapolis mayor and Ball State faculty member; Frank Hood, former president of the Student Government Association and school shooting survivor; and Robert Guilleman, also known as Sidewalk Sam, a world-renowned community artist.
The panel was organized by Lawrence Gerstein, psychology professor and director of Ball State University's Center for Peace and Conflict Studies; and Beth Messner, acting communication studies chair, co-coordinators of the three-day Paint 4 Peace event.
Paint 4 Peace kicked off at 8 a.m. with the painting of a giant dove in front of Bracken Library by artist Robert Guilleman, known as Sidewalk Sam, and Ball State students and community members.
Gora began the discussion by remarking that April has been "one of the bloodiest months in the history of our country."
Gora said the Virginia Tech massacre and the Columbine High School shooting "set a new tone for what could happen in a school setting."
"We think of ourselves as a peaceful country, but in our lifetime, we have experienced some horrific events," she said.
Acceptance of violence as the solution, instead of seeking dialogue and discussion, has become the problem in our society, King said. The media has allowed images of violence, such as shootings, killings and riots, which has desensitized people to violence being an issue.
"We have to take an active stance against it and discuss with media what is being shown to children, depicted on television, radio and in newspapers," King said.
Hood said he was brought in to give a younger perspective. He said he has lived through physically abusive foster care, drug and gun violence in his community and two school shootings.
He said we need to tell our leaders our problems and not assume they won't listen. We have to speak out against violence because we "hold more power speaking out than holding it in."
"You can do something to prevent it from happening to someone else," Hood said.
There is a difference between non-preventable violence, including street crime, and preventable crime, which can stem from fear, prejudice and hatred and can be counteracted by promoting diversity and understanding, Peterson said.
He said preventing violence and promoting nonviolence is one of the single most important jobs of a public official.
Art can provide an outlet for self-expression, he added.
"We have good leadership, but we need good followship, meaning people need to become more active, engaged and loving of their fellow man and support the decent, common things in society," Sidewalk Sam said.
Gora said the most important points of the discussion are to value the individual and allow for individual expression, to speak out against violence, because "it's everyone's responsibility to take a stand for peace," and to hold organizations and leaders to pro-activity.
Peterson said he hoped "that every student was found something that was uniquely important to them."
"The concept about focusing on nonviolence and understanding what nonviolence actually means and applying it in a practical sense to everyday life experiences" is what students should learn from the panel, King said.
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