Welcome to Maine Peace Action Committee
“Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. Nonviolence recognizes that people who choose actions that create injustices are also victims, and not evil people. The nonviolent resister seeks to defeat injustices, not people.”
~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
UPCOMING EVENT:
For Profit: A Solo Play
For Profit is an inside look at the the For Profit educational industry and a vibrant portrayal of the exploitation of the American student. It will be performed by Aaron Calafato here at the University of Maine on October 18th, and we are very excited to be hosting him! It will be held in the Black Box Theatre in the Class of 1944 Hall, and tickets will be sold at the door by donation only. Check out our event page for more details.
Welcome to the Maine Peace Action Committee Website!
The Maine Peace Action Committee is dedicated to understanding, practicing and promoting awareness of values of peace and nonviolence here at the University of Maine and at the local, state, national, and global level.
This year we have a specific focus upon resisting student debt, which, as university students, is something which connects with many of us. With student debt now the highest form of personal debt in our country, collectively topping over one trillion dollars, it is important to understand why this is happening, which we see to be reflective of the growing injustice in our economic structure; namely, public services like education are being slashed and restructured as for-profit, corporate-aligned institutions. We are looking forward to exploring this issue more in depth and discussing the many ways in which we can spread awareness and resist.
We also have a focus upon opposing militarism and imperialism, the traditional goals of our group. We denounce our ever-expanding military-industrial complex, the wars going on in the Middle East, and the use of militaristic violence to achieve narrow-minded, imperialistic domination of foreign governments and their economies. We recognize the interconnectedness between student debt and the cost of our country’s militaristic/imperialistic foreign policy. We see that when trillions of dollars are spent fighting unnecessary and unjust wars abroad, resources that could be spent on education (and healthcare and many other valuable services) are lost.
In opposing these injustices, we know that we must do so nonviolently. Nonviolence is the overarching strategy of our group, for we know that unless we resist nonviolently, then we will only further the same causal cycles of violence that inhibit us from knowing a truer peace. Nonviolence, of course, has many different interpretations. With the insight of Gandhi and King, as well as many others, we recognize that if we are to produce nonviolence change, then our nonviolence must be multidimensional, inclusive to more than just the absence of physical violence, and must be active, not passive; that is, we must actively resist but do so without using violence.
Not only does our group focus upon resisting forces of violence and injustice, but also upon ways in which we can create nonviolent, peaceful alternatives. It is not enough for us to simply tell you what is wrong with the world; we have to show you how we can change it. Concretely, we focus upon small change within the community; we have many potlucks and a weekly meditation group (meets Fridays at 4 pm in the Drummond Chapel, 3rd floor of the Memorial Union) so that we can become more peaceful in our own lives and establish a community based upon giving, cooperation and love, the alternative to the dominant violent forces in our society which tell us that we are simply selfish and uncaring beings. On a larger scale, we put our support behind national, grassroots movements like the Occupy Movement from which we find serious discussion of how to bring more peace and nonviolence into our society.
In the face of violence and injustice, it is easy to fall into apathy, despair and cynicism. Doing activism, though, brings you out of this state and gives meaning and hope to your life. We hope you will join us.
Meetings are held every Tuesday at 4:00 PM during the academic year, in the Virtue Room of the Maples building.
If you would like more information please contact Daniel K. White, Shannon Brenner, Caroline Robe or Douglas Allen on FirstClass (i.e. douglas.allen@umit.maine.edu)
Every semester, the Maine Peace Action Committee publishes a newsletter with articles, drawings, poetry, recipes, and more in order to educate and create awareness of myriad topics relating to peace and justice. Over four hundred copies are sent nationwide to professors, former members and to other peace and justice organizations. Locally, we disperse thousands of copies to the student body and to the greater Orono community. In case you cannot find access to a hard copy, below is a link to download an electronic version in pdf format. We hope you enjoy!
(updated 9/19/2012)