Renowned activists speak out against militarism
Peace Symposium brings Tom Hayden to Center for Meeting and Learning
Eder Campuzano
Issue date: 3/4/10 Section: News
Is there a correlation between the spread of democracy and militarism? What's it like to live in a country ravaged by war? These questions will be addressed by a variety of speakers in the Center for Meeting and Learning on March 5.
These speakers are all participating in the third annual LCC Peace Symposium. It's also the third year the Peace Center - the campus organization directing the event - has been active. The conference was coordinated by social sciences instructor Stan Taylor, who has been at LCC for 11 years.
"We wanted to deal with issues of peace and justice and to promote educational opportunities on those subjects here at Lane," Taylor said. "We also wanted to provide people with the skills to become community organizers."
This year's keynote will be delivered by Tom Hayden, a world-renowned activist who is currently lobbying to have Congress develop an exit strategy for the conflict in Afghanistan. Hayden has been an advocate for peace and human rights for nearly 50 years.
The symposium committee jumped at the opportunity to have Hayden speak at LCC when they heard he was doing a keynote for an event at Reed College in Portland.
"We said 'let's bring you to a working-class college,'" Taylor said. "I've always been aware of the significant role Tom has played [in activism]."
Hayden has been a prominent figure in activism since he first began advocating for students' rights in the '60s. His latest book investigates the political landscape in America from the time of John F. Kennedy's death to the election of Barack Obama.
"It's a discussion of the nature of social movements in America up to the present," he said.
Hayden believes the context in which youth is active today is different than it was in the '60s, but that comparisons between the two eras are not easy to distinguish.
"It's very difficult to compare across a 50-year time period," he said. "We were galvanized because we could be drafted. We weren't even allowed to vote."
These speakers are all participating in the third annual LCC Peace Symposium. It's also the third year the Peace Center - the campus organization directing the event - has been active. The conference was coordinated by social sciences instructor Stan Taylor, who has been at LCC for 11 years.
"We wanted to deal with issues of peace and justice and to promote educational opportunities on those subjects here at Lane," Taylor said. "We also wanted to provide people with the skills to become community organizers."
This year's keynote will be delivered by Tom Hayden, a world-renowned activist who is currently lobbying to have Congress develop an exit strategy for the conflict in Afghanistan. Hayden has been an advocate for peace and human rights for nearly 50 years.
The symposium committee jumped at the opportunity to have Hayden speak at LCC when they heard he was doing a keynote for an event at Reed College in Portland.
"We said 'let's bring you to a working-class college,'" Taylor said. "I've always been aware of the significant role Tom has played [in activism]."
Hayden has been a prominent figure in activism since he first began advocating for students' rights in the '60s. His latest book investigates the political landscape in America from the time of John F. Kennedy's death to the election of Barack Obama.
"It's a discussion of the nature of social movements in America up to the present," he said.
Hayden believes the context in which youth is active today is different than it was in the '60s, but that comparisons between the two eras are not easy to distinguish.
"It's very difficult to compare across a 50-year time period," he said. "We were galvanized because we could be drafted. We weren't even allowed to vote."
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Tim Palange
posted 3/05/10 @ 10:32 AM PST
"World-renowned"? Only because he used to play pelvic pinochle with Jane Fonda. (Continued…)
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