Panel Discussion, Vigil Asks Community to Work Toward Peace
01/29/2013
Contacts: Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu, and Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu
* Media Advisory *
Thursday, Jan. 31
Panel discussion at 5 p.m.
Candlelight vigil at 6 p.m.
What: “Sandy Hook and Beyond: Reflect, Remember, Respond” will unite the UMass Lowell community for a discussion on fostering nonviolent social change and a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
On Dec. 14, 20 children and six adults at the Newtown, Conn., school were killed in a rampage that was one of the deadliest school shootings in the nation’s history. The tragedy has become a focal point in the country’s debate over gun control.
The panel and vigil will be the first opportunity for members of the UMass Lowell community to share their feelings about the tragedy since students and faculty returned to campus from winter break. The program will encourage students, faculty and staff to become agents of peace in their studies and personal lives as a way to pay tribute to the fallen at Sandy Hook and victims of violence everywhere.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Prof. James Nehring, who teaches leadership in schooling in UMass Lowell’s Graduate School of Education, who will talk about how to cultivate respectful and safe school communities. He will be joined by UMass Lowell faculty members Paula Rayman, director of the university’s Peace and Conflict Studies Program; Anne Mulvey from the Psychology Department; and Cathy Levey from the Criminal Justice Department.
Afterward, participants will walk to UMass Lowell’s Sept. 11 Memorial where they will hold a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Sandy Hook victims.
Where: Panel discussion – Fox Commons, Fox Hall, East Campus, 100 Pawtucket St., Lowell. Candlelight vigil – Sept. 11 Memorial next to Leitch Hall, East Campus, 111 Pawtucket St., Lowell. In case of inclement weather, both the panel discussion and vigil will be held at Fox Commons.
UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 16,000 students bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health and environment, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. www.uml.edu