The Kingian Nonviolence & Conflict Resolution Workshop which was held on Saturday, January 31, 2015 at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics as a part of the 2015 Saint Anselm College Martin Luther King, Jr. Program.

Students, faculty, staff and community activists gathered to learn more about King’s philosophy.

“Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people,” facilitator Paul Bueno de Mesquita told the group of participants as he introduced King’s principles for nonviolent action. “Contrary to popular belief nonviolence is not for the passive, the weak, the apathetic or the fearful.”

Bueno de Mesquita was one four trainers from the University of Rhode Island Center for Nonviolence & Peace Studies who were present to lead the one-day workshop.

The Center was initially conceived in 1998 by a group of URI faculty and staff who shared a common interest in promoting and studying approaches to addressing conflict through nonviolence.

Through its work the Center strives to institutionalize and internationalize nonviolence, foster mutual understanding among people and to collaborate with and strengthen relationships with other organizations, agencies, and governmental departments engaged in peacebuilding and nonviolence work at the local, national and global levels.

The Kingian Nonviolence workshop was highly interactive and utilized a variety of formats to convey information.

Small group activities, readings, video presentations, mini-lectures and discussions helped participants explore topics such as: the definitions of violence and nonviolence, an analysis of the types and levels of conflicts, the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the principles (will) and steps (skill) of Kingian Nonviolence.

Participants received a certificate of completion and more importantly new skills and a new perspective on dealing with conflicts in their personal and professional lives.

“It was a very interesting workshop,” participant Karina de Brum shared. “I think the information was highly valuable for all walks of life and people. There should be more trainings like it available. It was a great leadership training exercise.”

Miranda Groux, another participant, shared that “The one big thing I took away had been that when a conflict is resolved through peaceful means, it is often longer lasting than one resolved through violent means. A peaceful resolution to a conflict helps build a foundation of trust and understanding in a community, whereas resolving conflicts through war or violence may temporarily fix a problem, but fails to instill this sense of foundational understanding.”

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At Grotonwood Camp & Conference Center in Massachusetts on Saturday, February 7, twenty-five Saint Anselm students and the Multicultural Center staff embarked upon a journey together that was transformative and empowering.

The Finding Ourselves in Unity to our Campus Community (Unity to our Community) Retreat was a student-driven, retention initiative that was created to promote community building and support for multicultural students.

It was born out of conversations several students had about the many struggles multicultural students on campus face.

Multicultural students can feel isolated due to the lack of diversity on campus in the student body and among the faculty and staff.

They endure stereotyping and discriminatory comments on Yik Yak and other social media sites, do not see themselves represented in the curriculum and experience unwelcoming behavior by faculty in the classroom; they deal with people who believe racism no longer exists and are frustrated and disappointed by an administration who seems to be apathetic when it comes to diversity issues.

After a series of discussions about the aforementioned issues and more, these students wanted to make sure other multicultural students knew they were not alone..

As a result, six student leaders came together to discuss planning an event that would connect the multicultural student body in their common struggles.

They planned the agenda, assigned roles and marketed the retreat. Word-of-mouth served as a powerful recruitment tool.

The students who attended represented a diverse group of races, ethnicities, political beliefs, socioeconomic statuses, and sexual orientations amongst other identities.

Although multicultural students were targeted for the initiative, anyone with an interest in creating positive experiences for them were welcome to attend.

Unity to our Community was designed to be engaging. A video, interactive exercises, and small and large group discussions were used to facilitate dialogue and interactions among participants.

Retreat leaders emphasized the importance of making people feel comfortable, therefore several activities were planned in the beginning to help promote a safe environment and help participants get to know each other better.

Participants were encouraged to step outside of their comfort zones and make an effort to meet new people.

Ash Beckham’s TED Talk, “We’re all hiding something. Let’s find the courage to open up” served as a catalyst to for a discussion about “personal closets.”

Other activities assessed comfort level with social issues and experiences at Saint Anselm. Dialogues ranged from the experiences of athletes vs. non-athletes to the issue of respect on campus.

The retreat closed by having participants write a letter to themselves that addressed the lessons they learned and the changes they wanted to make after attending Unity to our Community.

They were also asked to offer a brief reflection and say something positive about one of the participants.

Finding Ourselves in Unity to our Campus Community served as a forum where students could share their own stories and experiences, showcase their leadership skills and participate in community building exercises.