Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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dialogue of harmony by Claudette Riley Campus police officer Bob Fenton watches as students, faculty and staff cross College Heights Road during Racial Ethnic Harmony Week ' s closing walk. Above: Some of the event ' s nearly 100 participants carry a banner during the 40-minute walk. (Photo by Darren Whitley) Hamed Ghazali points to emphasize the Islamic view on violence as Rabbi Larry Karol and Sister Mary Christine Fellerhoff listen. The Oct. 2 Interfaith Dialogue took place in the International Student Center. (Photo by Darren Whitley) the language of harmony was spoken by leaders representing religious and cultural campus organizations Oct. 2-7. During Racial Ethnic Harmony Week, students defined by their religious beliefs and ethnic identities talked openly and cel ebrated common goals. The Interfaith Dialogue, Oct. 2, brought members of the Jewish, Islamic and Christian doctrines together to discuss the role of faith in the journey toward peace. Moderating the event, the Rev. Don Fallon, coordinator of religious activities, spoke about squelching violence as a first step. We are very aware of violence and how faith, our three faiths, may deal with the question of violence within ourselves and work toward peace, Fallon said. Three speakers led 70 students in the dialogue. Sister Mary Christine Fellerhoff, from Sister of Saint Agnes in Milwaukee, said ordinary people, not the experts, would solve the problems of violence. If religion is one of the boxes we put people in, then it will be part of the problem, she said. The Christians ' answer to violence is to take seriously Christ ' s message of love. The Islamic faith was represented by Hamed Ghazali, vice president of the Islamic Association of North America. He stressed inner peace and Muslims ' relationship to society. If I feel like the community cares for me and takes care of me, I will never have violence toward the community, said Ghazali, graduate student in educational curriculum and instruction. Rabbi Larry Karol, from the Shalom Temple in Topeka, spoke about treating others with respect. The fundamental views of Judaism include to love your neighbor as yourself, he said. The religious leaders also addressed the idea of working toward peace on campus and in the local community. Karol suggested groups unify and work toward similar goals. I have found that people in faith groups that are divergent can come together best for a common cause, he said. But the issues in which people disagree have to be dealt with. Karol cited the success of a program that allowed young students to play and talk with children of different religions. They get together and learn from each other, he said. They don ' t go away agreeing with each other but knowing each other. Li stening and getting involved with people from other groups was important in forging a mutual respect, Karol said. I think we, all three, have heard echoes of tradition in each other, he said. Brian Buford, junior in psychology and member of K-State ' s committee on religion, said interfaith dialogues would solve problems. This is something that needs to be done, Buford said. Personally, I didn ' t know a lot about the Jewish or Islamic faiths and (Continued on page 30) Phil Anderson, speech instructor, turns the microphone over to the Rev. Don Fallon, coordinator of religious activities, during the Oct. 7 closing ceremonies of Racial Ethnic Harmony week. (Photo by Darren Whitley) harmony week 29

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harmony (Continued from page 29) was amazed to find out that in some areas they felt similarly. During the week, students were invited to attend meetings for Black Student Union and express their opinions through poetry at the Oct. 3 UPC-sponsored poetry reading. Zev Kedem spoke of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor and drew an overflow crowd of 1,058 to Forum Hall. Kedem, an engineer and documentary filmmaker, served as a consultant to Steven Spielberg ' s 1993 Oscar-winning epic, Schindler ' s List. Kedem said he dealt with years of internalizing the trauma after seeing the film. I discovered a language (through the film) to at least discuss what happened to me, he said. Kedem was 8 when his family was forced by the Nazis to live in the over-crowded ghetto of K rakov and later the work camp Plaszow in his native Poland. The degradation, even to a child during the Holocaust, was so difficult, so insidious that I would not speak about it for 50 years, he said. The only objective for a child of that age was to see if you could beat the system and live for another day. At Plaszow, Oskar Schindler enlisted Dr. Leon Gross, Kedem ' s stepfather, to treat his factory workers. Subsequently, Kedem and his mother were placed on Schindler ' s list. When Schindler moved his factory to Brinnlitz, Czechoslovakia, Kedem was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp where a number was immediately tattooed on his forearm. I had tears of joy and a little discomfort, he said. I realized that if the Nazis had investe d enough to put a number on us, then they weren ' t going to kill us — that night, anyway. Stressing the evils of blind hatred, Kedem discussed the extreme levels of racism he endured. It wasn ' t just destroying one nationality— it was denigrating and humiliating people to levels lower than that of humans, he said. Kedem was cared for by American soldiers after fleeing Auschwitz at the end of World War II. A generation later, he found his mother, Selma. As part of the last generation of Holocaust survivors, Kedem believed there was a message for everyone in his experience. We must never forget the evil that happened to that little boy and millions of others like him, and, most importantly, we must never let it happen again, he said. His message was heard by an audience of mixed racial and ethnic groups. I was astounded by the crowd outside, Libby Rittmaster, senior in Spanish and Latin American studies, said. They weren ' t just coming because it was a Jewish issue but because it was a world issue. I think it struck a deeper core. Racial Ethnic Harmony week ended Oct. 7 after students walked in unity from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial through campus. Zev Kedem, Holocaust survivor, visits with Alexandra Thome, sophomore in economics, in Forum Hall Oct. 6. Kedem, whose life was spared by Oskar Schindler in Poland, was an adviser to the movie Schindler ' s List. I discovered a language (through the film) to at least discuss what happened to me, Kedem said. (Photo by Todd Feeback) 30 harmony week