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Volume CXXXII, Number 22 |
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"Plates for Peace" aids post-war Iraq
HANNAH DEAN
STAFF WRITER
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| Alex Noznik '03 prepares a dinner at Ladd House last Thursday evening. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
Plates for Peace, a campus group that formed as a result of the growing humanitarian crisis in Iraq hosted their first event April 18 in Ladd House.
The members of Plates for Peace, all formerly a part of the Bowdoin Coalition Against the War in Iraq, thought its activity this past Thursday was a perfect way to channel the activism that is still prevalent on campus as a result of the crisis in the Middle East.
Alex Nosnik '03 led Plates for Peace in their dinner at Ladd House Thursday evening. "It was great because it represents a perfect confluence of my passions: cooking and activism." The event arose after the group of students had reviewed some of the options for fundraising. They soon "stumbled into the ideas of re-opening Your Restaurant, a student chartered and operated restaurant that existed in Ladd House, during the spring of 2002. We simply had to add a humanitarian flare."
Nosnik noted that Plates for Peace represented the perfect metaphor for cultural
exchange, social education, and humanitarian fundraising. While "donating all proceeds (stemming entirely from the mandatory $10-$30 donation) to OXFAM disaster relief in Iraq…we simultaneously celebrated life, through the delicious and beautiful cultural education of Middle Eastern poetry, food, and music, and therefore overcame the blanket of helplessness that so readily plagues the active and liberal thinker."
Nosnik went on to say that "as a group, we aim to proliferate awareness regarding the manners in which our lives, both as individuals, and as a unified, American community, impact the rest of the world." The group will aim to illustrate the ways in which the globalized community affects the livelihood and conditions of people around the world.
Specifically, the group has "unified…behind the singular focus of the war in Iraq, by means of a common thread of necessity, interest, and support that has surfaced in light of an American, pre-emtive, unilateral strike." The group began as a number of students who openly opposed the action and "attempted to organize a series of events in support of this cause, beginning with the "Event About the War In Iraq," last November, followed by a massive signature campaign geared towards passing a resolution condemning pre-emptive strike."
The group has, however, experienced some difficulty in combating the rampant apathy that seems to have free-reign over many Bowdoin students. Nosnik commented that "as people with a non-mainstream social and political agenda, we often times find it quite difficult to engender a means to project and enliven our agenda. As of late, it appears as if the only manner in which to elicit a massive, meaningful political and social action, rests in the casting of one's vote."
Unfortunately, being witnesses to what some call outrageous decisions on the part of the American government, many members of Plates for Peace do not yet fully trust the administration. Consequently, they have determined that the only solution for the time being is to "take the burden upon ourselves." To this end, the group has worked "to develop a pragmatic infrastructure by which our message can be spread and an economic power might be accrued."
This decision has resulted in several recent developments. First, "As a group, we hope continue linking arms with HELP, the Democratic Socialists, and other progressive and environmental groups on campus, as to actively promote a constant presence of
dynamic and progressive discussions on campus." Since Craig Kielburger's lecture, Nosnik noted a reawakening of determination among liberal activists. Nosnik noted that "literally 50 students became impassioned with the charge to devote themselves, selflessly, and simply act, not debate, to make a difference."
"More than drawing the distinction between political and social work, I feel we are trying to bridge the divide, by offering a means by which we might become socially educated and concurrently politically (or socially) active."
"As a community with such a rich array of perspectives, in addition to educative and financial means, we need to rise above our political, or even class divides, and join one another as human beings, who no matter how superficially divided, are as interconnected as those billions of intricate knots of a Persian rug. We would also like to add that none of these events would have been possible without the kindness and generosity of Craig Bradley, in the Dean's office, and Bob Graves and Alice Hershey, in Residential Life, in addition to the folks at Dining Services."
In terms of future plans the group intends on hosting another Plates for Peace on Thursday, May 1. Contact anosnik@bowdoin.edu for reservations. Additionally, the group will be hosting a contra dance for peace, this Friday, April 25, in Sargent Gym from 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m..
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