I attended the Make Peace event, hosted by Student Peace Alliance last week. I know we are supposed to do an event that is a stretch for us, but this event was so powerful for me personally, that I feel I should write about it for my on campus event. The event was in memory of Rob, and man you could feel his presence everywhere that night; it was incredibly powerful and really, really awesome. There were a multitude of musical acts that night, as well as other types of performances, but one in particular shook me to the core. An SU student, I believe a sophomore, composed an orchestral piece the night of Rob’s death, and it was performed by during the event by an orchestra (I think- I’m not really sure what an orchestra consists of) and the choir. I cannot even express how moving the piece was on a personal level; it was as though the spirit of Rob was in that piece. And anyone that knew Rob knows how beautiful his spirit is; he was one of the kindest, most compassionate, incredible souls I have ever encountered- honestly, there is no way to put into words how amazing of a person he was. Fortunately though, someone was able to put it into music. It was as though that composition took a snapshot of a smiling Rob, with his arms open to the world, and transformed it into a piece of music that touched everyone’s hearts in a way that only Rob could. I cried again that night for Rob, as did others, but it was a good cry. I think we all felt something that night; I can’t really explain what it was, but it was peaceful. It was essentially, in my very subjective opinion at least, the embodiment of the beauty and meaning of life. The atmosphere in that room was so perfect; it was constructive, caring, creative, impassioned, and incredibly, incredibly peaceful. We read Hannah Arendt in my political theory class, and she says that individuals must create their own meanings by creating their own worlds, and that night a beautiful world was created, one that Rob would have been so ecstatic to witness, and even more ecstatic to have inspired. I don’t believe in heaven in the traditional sense, but I do believe that wherever Rob’s spirit is, it was smiling his ridiculously bright, optimistc, beautiful smile, and for at least a night, I think all of us really experienced the compassion and peace that was Rob’s life.
Friday, May 1, 2009
On Campus Event 1
For one of my on-campus events, I attended the SESA Take Back the Night rally and rave. We arrived at 8 on the mall to begin. There was a pretty decent sized group- I would say about twenty people or so showed up, both male and female. Brady was there, which was a pleasant surprise, because I was unaware that he is actually a member of SESA. I don’t know if you’ll read this Brady, but I think that the fact that you are a member of such an awesome group, who has such a powerful and important message is really, really amazing. Anyways, we met at the mall, and we walked around campus chanting various slogans. The two call and responses that we did were –SU Unite: Take Back the Night, and break the silence: end the violence! It was a pretty cool experience for sure; I’ve done peace marches in Austin before, and I really enjoy being out among other passionate people, trying to inspire change. Our path took us by Herman-Brown and Moody-Shearn, then to Lord Center, and down the road between McCombs and the DLC. We then went through the freshman dorms, finally ending at the mall. There, we went around in the circle and talked about our experiences with violence, or potential violence, and what taking back the night meant to all of us. I personally (and thankfully) have never been touched by sexual violence, but I have a good friend who has been, which absolutely breaks my heart. The worst part is that she has not yet come to terms with it, and she still blames herself for what happened, although if she saw herself as I (and everyone she meets) see her, she would know what an incredible, inspirational person she is, and how much I value her in my life. This event really inspired me to try and create in myself more understanding for the things she is dealing with, and hopefully one day I will be able to hug her and tell her how amazing she is, and that it isn’t her fault. Unfortunately, I can only wait though, because I know that this is something she has to come to terms with on her own, and all I can do is be a shoulder to cry on, or a friend to listen. I think that personally that is the worst part; the fact that she is dealing with this, and all I can do is wait. I think that is why sexual assault is so absolutely awful. From what I’ve seen, it affects people to their very core, and places the burden of getting over it entirely on them, while the perpetrator is free to continue. I am really glad I went to this event, although I didn’t stay for the rave after, because I had far too much homework. I hope that SESA continues doing what they’re doing, because their message is to important to be kept in silence.
