Students, faculty dedicate peace pole near Argyros Forum

The new peace pole reads “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in eight languages. Photo by Bonnie Cash, Photo Editor

Overcast weather and rain didn’t stop about 30 students and faculty, including President Daniele Struppa, from gathering to dedicate the new peace pole in front of Argyros Forum Feb. 17.

The pole, which cost $633, is made of wood as a nod to the ancient Greek olive branch of peace, and has “May peace prevail on Earth” engraved in eight languages.

The idea for the project began around the time of International Peace Day in September, said peace studies professor Lisa Leitz. However, Leitz attributed some of the interest in the pole to current political events.

“We had started the project well before (the presidential) election had wrapped up, but you might have seen a larger turnout at this event and Daniele’s insistence on being here because of the political climate,” Leitz said. “I think all of us adjusted what we were going to say, wanting to promote ideas of peace and justice.”

Leitz said that the project was started in Japan in 1955 by Masahisa Goi, a Japanese philosopher and spiritual leader, after he was disturbed by the Nagasaki and Hiroshima nuclear bombings.

The university commissioned the pole from a website called the Peace Pole Project and was able to customize the languages.

Justin Koppelman, associate director of Civic Engagement, said that seven of the languages engraved on the peace pole are the most common spoken among Chapman students: English, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. The eighth, Koppelman said, is the language of the Gabrielino-Tongva, a Southern California indigenous tribe.

During the dedication ceremony, Leitz said that Chapman’s peace pole joins more than 100,000 similar poles around the world. The pole was officially dedicated by Gail Stearns, the dean of the Wallace All Faiths Chapel.

President Daniele Struppa smiles next to the Peace Pole in front of Argyros Forum. Photo by Bonnie Cash

Struppa, who wrote an email to the Chapman community Jan. 30 expressing his concern about President Donald Trump’s travel ban, spoke at the dedication about the “paradox of peace.”

“You never hear anybody say that we shouldn’t have peace,” Struppa said. “But it’s so easy to get angry and frustrated and desire revenge and retaliation … This is a very difficult time. All around the world, and especially here in the U.S., civil discourse seems to be on the verge of evaporating. You open the TV, and no matter which channel you open, there is yelling, there is cursing.”

Jade Michaels, a freshman television writing and production major, read a poem at the dedication that discussed her reaction to the election.

“I’m all about fueling anger into something effective,” Michaels said. “And not just getting your opinion out there so other people can hear it, but getting it out there to make a difference.”

Michaels said that, to her, the pole means working together and trying to have dialogues instead of fights.

“Being a radical on either side can be ineffective if you’re unwilling to listen and grow. We’re working for everyone, majorities and minorities alike,” Michaels said. “One party shouldn’t silence another. That’s why the peace pole represents, for me, open dialogue.”

Michaels’ poem discussed the political climate in the days after the election, and her belief that in contentious political times, arguing can cause hate to take hold.

Leitz also said the location of the pole is significant because of its close proximity to the bust of Don Wills, a former director of the peace studies program who died in 2014. In a letter sent to the Chapman community shortly after Wills’ death, then-Chancellor Struppa credited Wills for the success of the peace studies department.

Leitz said that in the future, the team behind the installation hopes to put benches around the pole, and a light so that people are able to view the pole at night.

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the languages on the peace pole. This information has been corrected.