This letter is from Alykhan Alani, volunteer and board member of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, to the President of the University of Rochester: Joel Seligman.

Dear President Seligman,
My name is Alykhan Alani.  I sincerely thank you for your audience, and would like to take this opportunity to describe the Gandhi Institute’s involvement in my life and contextualize its importance to not only our University and the Rochester area, but to the world and inherently global socio-political discourse.

Aside from the Rochester Center for Community Leadership (RCCL), the Gandhi Institute is the most accessible outlet for sustained community engagement and service on our campus.  Kit, Shannon, George, and a host of other dedicated individuals’ work tirelessly alongside students to help align their passion for service with opportunities both on-and-off campus.  The sheer number of undertakings by the Institute within the last couple of years is a prime example of this.

From urban farming, community garden management, and micro-farm entrepreneurship, the Gandhi Institute demonstrates environmental stewardship and a commitment to local agriculture and sustainability. The Restorative Rochester campaign, conflict resolution and the alternatives to in-school suspension workshops at Monroe and Wilson High School seek to empower our youth by addressing this wide-spread concern while promoting the use of restorative practices in our communities, courts, and schools. Initiating dialogues on race at public libraries, and close partnerships with the Hillside Center, Baobab Cultural Center, Nazareth, RIT, and St. Joe’s House of Hospitality show how the Gandhi Institute exhibits an awareness of, and commitment to mitigating issues of social justice. The non-violence workshops made available throughout the year via the Gandhi Summer and Autumn Institutes, as well as the Season for Nonviolence among many other programs and initiatives, provide the foundation for sustained involvement in, and dialogue about these critical socio-political issues. The Gandhi Institute continues to play a very active role in the community while maintaining its commitment to, and responsibility toward fostering a civically engaged and compassionate student body.

The Gandhi Institute is an integral component of our vibrant campus, but it is also a community institution.  The University is a stakeholder in this community, and the Gandhi Institute’s effort to expand the University’s role in the community serves to strengthen this relationship.  It also makes the resources available through the Institute more accessible to the community, and in turn brings concerned students and community members together.  This allows for growth and increased understanding between the Rochester community, the University, and individuals involved with the Institute in any capacity.

As I reflect upon the last 4 years I’ve realized that the Institute will always hold a special place in my mind and heart. Aside from a few professors whom I consider mentors and friends, it is the Gandhi Institute that has continually shaped my commitment to social, economic and environmental justice as well as my future career aspirations and personal philosophy. No other institution on campus offers such genuine and intimate experiences with the surrounding community, based on applied principles of non-violence, sustainability, and compassion.  It is an institution that seeks to inform, empower, advocate and organize to help overcome some of our city’s most challenging issues, and encourages true university-community partnerships to address them.  It is an internationally recognized institution, allied with like-minded organizations around the country and the world.  It serves to protect and promote non-violent conflict resolution and sustainability in theory and application, and it chronicles, celebrates, and recognizes the work of peacemakers worldwide. We are incredibly fortunate to have such an institution as a member of not only our campus community, but the city of Rochester as well.

The Gandhi institute is one of the few and most authentic ways students at University of Rochester can engage the community in which we live and study.  It is my hope that the Institute continues to cultivate these relationships and makes available even more opportunities for increased civic engagement and global citizenship. The Institute’s interaction with our campus and the Rochester community remains incredibly positive and fruitful. To see such admirable work continue would be wonderful, but to see it expand further and grow would be truly remarkable.  The existence of the Institute and its unique approach to programming encourages us to imagine; to re-envision our society as one that embodies the principles of service, justice, compassion, education and love. The Gandhi Institute’s power lies in pluralism, its proven ability to encourage greater understanding between people of all walks of life. When we are conscious of the fact that our welfare is directly dependent on those around us, we can collectively seek to mitigate our most divisive issues.

Thank you for your time,

Alykhan Alani

University of Rochester Class of 2012