A 2006 Season for NV Press Release

K-STATE TO CELEBRATE A SEASON FOR NONVIOLENCE WITH WORKSHOPS, FILMS,ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVITIES

MANHATTAN -- Take a walk on the tallgrass prairie, give Vipassana meditation a try or learn about the Teach for America Program. These are just some ways to practice nonviolence during Kansas State University's Season For Nonviolence.

Beginning Monday, Jan. 30, the 64-day Season for Nonviolence creates an awareness of nonviolence principles and practices as a powerful way to heal, transform and empower lives and communities, according to Susan Allen, director of the K-State Women's Center. The Season for Nonviolence movement began in 1998 as a way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. and

Mahatma Gandhi, both of whom achieved their goals for social justice without violence but whose lives were ended by violence. The anniversary of Gandhi's assassination is Jan. 30, and the anniversary of King's assassination is 64 days later, April 4.

The K-State community will celebrate its fifth Season for Nonviolence with events during and around the 64 days, including films, workshops and a benefit concert in Aggieville. Events take place both on campus and elsewhere in Manhattan. A complete list of events will be available at http://www.k-state.edu/womenscenter/

The season is the work of the K-State Campaign for Nonviolence and the K-State Women's Center.

One of the season's highlights will be a presentation by Shannon Babcock, senior in social work, Manhattan, who is touring India with a grandson of Gandhi, visiting sites significant to Gandhi's experiences. Babcock will present "Gandhian Legacy and Grassroots Development" at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Room 203 at the K-State Student Union.

One of this year's new events is the Privilege Forum, 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29. The forum will take an interdisciplinary, academic look at discrimination as a form of violence.

"Violence includes harassment and treating people unfairly," Allen said. "The Privilege Forum will be a panel of K-State faculty and staff talking about how each of us benefits from privilege and suffers from oppression in various ways."

A Nonviolent Communication Workshop on intimate relationships will be 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, in the Union's Big 12 Room.

Two of the season's several walking events are centered around Earth Day and the tallgrass prairie. Allen said nonviolence and environmentalism go hand in hand.

"It's thinking about how we can be less violent toward the earth," Allen said. "Exploiting the earth is a form of violence that hurts all of us."

K-State's Campaign for Nonviolence has events planned after April 4 as well, including the second annual Empty Bowls Project, Thursday, April 20; Take Back the Night, Friday, April 21; and Date with Hate, Saturday, May 13.

The Season for Nonviolence includes a 64-day regimen for practicing nonviolence, according to Allen. Each day offers a way to rethink and reshape attitudes that can lead to violence. Exercises range from the internal -- acknowledging and reflecting on a mistake -- to the external, such as refusing to perpetuate gossip.

Posters of 64 Ways to Practice Nonviolence will be available at the

Women's Center, 206 Holton Hall, and the Manhattan Public Library, 629 Poyntz Ave., during February. An online version is available at: http://www.kstate.edu/womenscenter/64_ways_to_practice_nonviolence.htm