Walk for Nonviolence Education
By Jenna Nakagma
On Monday, March 27, 2006, six UC Berkeley students embarked on a four-day march through the Oakland community to raise awareness and deepen understanding of nonviolence.
The Walk for Nonviolence Education was a service-learning alternative spring break hosted through Cal Corps, UC Berkeley’s public service center. The walk was a fundraiser toward a Gandhian Endowment fund, ensuring the availability of nonviolence education at UC Berkeley for future generations. This includes efforts to strengthen the Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) department and our first tenured faculty member.
The march started Monday morning with the walkers joining in the March for Peace, an anti-war, 241-mile peace walk from Tijuana to San Francisco. By the time the students had joined the march in Oakland, the march had reached over 200 people.
“We got to kick off the trip with this group effervescence,” says Lisa Putkey, a second year Peace and Conflict Studies major, and one of the six nonviolence walkers, “It was a really loving atmosphere.”
Along the walk, the group passed by and stopped at various high schools and elementary schools, where they were received with great appreciation.
“Kids came out holding peace signs and clapping for us,” says Kate Dillon, a second year. “It was just beautiful and really moving. I think [the walk] reached out to all the kids in a really unique way.”
The Nonviolence walk then continued at the Lake Merritt Community College, and after a BART trip to the Oakland Coliseum, the walkers made their way to the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center for a workshop. That day, the group also met up with the Beyond Green Sustainability alternative break. By that evening they reached a Catholic Worker house in Downtown Oakland, where they ate dinner, engaged in discussion about the Catholic Worker Movement, reflected on their trip so far, and spent the night.
Over the course of the walk, the students were significantly taken out of their element of school, deadlines, and stress.
“It forces you to think about what you normally wouldn’t as a college student; There is more to life than getting into grad school and getting what you want,” says Hatty Lee, a first year. “When you expose yourself to something like this you see how blessed you are and how much power you have to reach out to your community.”
On Tuesday morning, the walkers reached the Garden of Learning at St. Elizabeth’s School, where they gave 2nd graders lessons in nonviolent communication and worked in their garden. The walk continued with a visit to TriValley Cares, a community watchdog group for the nuclear weapons laboratory visited later that day. The Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, managed by the University of California, was a symbol of “violence education.” The evening was then retired with service at the St. Mary’s Church, which serves homeless seniors, and an overnight stay at the First Congressional Church.
Even though they walked out of their passion for Nonviolence as peace activists around Oakland, the group truly enjoyed the alternative break as a learning experience. They took advantage of the break to learn valuable lessons from others, and avoided a sense of moral superiority over those they were helping while performing community service.
“There was so much enjoyment in learning and absorbing instead of too much teaching,” says Dillon.
“When you do service learning you have a lot of solidarity with [the community organizations],” continues Putkey. “You’re doing it not because you’re privileged and they’re not, but because you’re on the same level and because you want to help them… Nobody knows the truth, everyone has a piece of it, and you have to appreciate what everyone has to offer.”
On Wednesday the walkers met with the Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, and had Nonviolence service training with PACE e BENE. They later attended “Overcoming Prejudices,” a nonviolent communication workshop led by Marshall Rosenberg. The day was ended with a reflection, and the walkers stayed overnight at the 1st Congressional Church.
Thursday morning, the walkers attended a personal workshop about nonviolent communication in times of conflict, focusing on the skills needed to engage with others through empathy to gain trust and understanding. That afternoon the group met with the Black Panthers Commemoration Party, and that evening they returned back to Berkeley for a last reflection on campus near Stephens Hall, home of the PACS department.
The march proved to be invaluable for the six participants. From the Catholic Workers to the elementary school children, the people they met at their stops along the walk inspired them to see a common desire for peace and understanding amongst human beings, and gave them new perspectives on their community.
“I saw a lot of hope because there are a lot of people doing such good things,” says Lee. “It just enriches you as a person and your outlook on life.”
“I had no idea how diverse the group of organizations would be,” says Dillon. “Each is doing such phenomenal work to advocate positive change for social justice. It was really moving to meet with so many in such few days.”
In addition, by the end of the walk the group had discovered a sense of unity, both amongst themselves and with the people they visited.
“We all have a common desire to see happiness and peace for everyone in the world,” says Lee.
“Not everyone believes in the same doctrine but I see the same thing reflected in me from everyone else… we are all human.”
Service learning, the walkers discovered, is an experience that everyone should partake in at least once in their lives. Different from most projects, the students were completely saturated in their service to the community for a significantly extensive period of time, forcing them to dedicate themselves entirely to the principles of nonviolence and the lessons learned through active listening and participation.
“I’ve participated in protests and community service trips, but this is a really unique experience,” says Dillon. “[Service learning] is so valuable.”
“It’s really nice to relax all spring break or party in Mexico, but when you step a little outside your comfort zone and immerse yourself in a service learning trip, it’s so impacting,” says Putkey. “It was so amazingly rewarding and such a growing experience. We walked a lot, ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and slept in sleeping bags—there were a lot of discomforts, but it was so worth it to meet the people we did and to learn from them.”
The Walk for Nonviolence Education was successful in raising $2500 for the Gandhian Endowment. The group would like to send a heartfelt ‘Thank You” to their sponsors—friends, family, and the local community organizations and businesses—for all the generosity and support.