Gandhi Institute in the Democrat and Chronicle

The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence was mentioned in the Business section of today’s Democrat and Chronicle. Below is an exerpt of the article. For the full article, please go to:
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011101310316

University of Rochester students Joseph Gardella and Lorenzo Mendez recently gave a classroom of Rochester middle school students a lesson in nonviolence.

Mohandas Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma which means “great soul”, organized nonviolent protests that eventually freed India from British rule in 1947, Gardella explained.

The Wilson Foundation Academy students, who were being counseled on conflict resolution, were then played a CD with the message, “Be the change that you want to see — just like Gandhi.”

As volunteers with M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence at UR, Gardella and Mendez make weekly visits to the Wilson academy — trying to make Gandhi’s message relevant.

Gardella, 21, is a UR senior from San Diego and Mendez, 20, is a junior from Brooklyn.

The importance of their mission became all the more apparent because on the same morning of their visit, funeral services were being held across the street for UR student Jeffrey Bordeaux Jr. He had been stabbed to death during a dispute with another UR student, Daren Venable, who has since been indicted on one count of second-degree murder.

Located on the UR campus for most of the past four years, the institute is one of more than 300 such peace and justice programs at colleges that in large or small ways promote nonviolent solutions to disputes.

Welcome

Dear Friends,
I am delighted to launch this blog on behalf of the MK Gandhi Institute, to extend our conversations to include you.

This extraordinary technology gifts us with the ability to face some truths together, truths about our time that are so daunting that they need to be borne and witnessed in community, however virtual. In the US, a truth we need to face is the growing likelihood that our commitment to military expansion can no longer be halted by the democratic process. Consequently, poverty and the violence that accompanies it is growing in many communities. Pressing issues of structual injustice go unacknowledged. Meanwhile, climate change is accelerating, no matter how much it is ignored in the media and by most leaders.

In this blog you will see posts from myself and other Gandhi staff. We hope you will accompany us as we look back to nonviolent leaders and movements for inspiration–the big guys like Gandhi and King as well as extraordinary heroes who are more obscure, such as Abdul Ghaffar Khan– and as we look forward, interpreting this rich legacy for its applicability to our lives, work and projects.

We need to know others are with us, arm in arm, to give us courage to gaze at the daunting issues of our day. If this blog offers a sense of community or shared values or inspiration to you, let us know. If we miss the mark, let us know. We dedicate the merit of this blog to each of you reading these words, searching for answers.

in peace and hope,
Kit Miller

Language, Nonviolence, and A Culture of Peace

‘No culture has devised a means for talking without highlighting some things at the expense of others’
Edward T. Hall The Silent Language

During a recent workshop at the Gandhi Institute, a group of students spent time looking at the war and violence embedded in everyday language. We looked for war-like language in the areas of sports, politics, business, entertainment, and common expressions. In 10 minutes, we discovered dozens of phrases—from ‘spearheading’ a project to ‘killing a bill’. Several people said they felt shock at seeing how commonly these words appear.

Does it matter that English, rapidly becoming the lingua franca of the world, has hundreds of phrases where war and violence are invoked, however unconsciously?

I have been trying to rid my language of violence for years, a work in progress. I do it as an awareness practice, as a nudge to stay conscious of the power of words on my mind, relationships, and actions.
Language is not a neutral vessel; it is a mold that shapes the way people think and act.

Kit Miller