(Posted September 19, 2017)

Huntingdon, Pa. – During the week of September 21, Juniata College’s Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, together with its student organization, PAX-O, will be celebrating International Day of Peace with various events, including a public lecture by Michael Loadenthal. The talk, which takes place on Sept. 21, at 7 p.m. in Neff Hall, von Liebig Center for Science, is free and open to the public. 

Loadenthal is a prominent peace and conflict researcher, social activist and Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association. His research focuses on social movements as well as terrorism and counterterrorism. His lecture will focus on the repression of social movements under the Trump administration. 

“Freedom of press, protest and speech are keystones of democracy and nonviolent change,” said Polly Walker, the Director of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, “We want to speak openly about violence and work to change it. Good governance includes giving people a voice.” 

According to Polly Walker, bringing Loadenthal to Juniata’s campus assists the Baker Institute in “preparing students involved in social justice who will be faced with forms of blowback that they were not anticipating. His knowledge is intended to assist students in making informed and effective decisions regarding social transformation initiatives.” 

Polly Walker also hopes that those who go to see his lecture “will respond positively to Loadenthal’s expertise and passion for nonviolent social change, and that they will take away an analysis of how to build effective social change movements in the current political climate.”

"We want to speak openly about violence and work to change it. Good governance includes giving people a voice." -Polly Walker, the Director of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

International Day of Peace was deemed an international holiday by the United Nations in 1981. It is a day for individuals, communities, states and international organizations and communities to come together and voice their goals to advance peace and freedom in the world. It also puts an emphasis on the international responsibility to combat hate in our world. 

For more information about the Baker Institute for Peace and Peace Studies, which administers the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Juniata and is home to the PAX-O club, please visit www.juniata.edu/bakerinstitute. 

Written by Isabella Bennett ’20 

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.