Student Responses - Literature of Peace Course

Literature of Peace

Georgetown University

2nd Semester ‘05

A sampling of answers….

l. I’m the one who

--laughs all the time.

--gets made of fun of by all my pro-war friends for having a tattoo of a Picasso dove of peace.

--whose father made me read Gandhi’s autobiography in the 6th grade as “punishment” for fighting with my sister and complete a written report about it.

--is constantly looking to do something more, be something and someone more, to create and change the world as I know it.

--is here with slightly more than the clothes on his back, fighting to keep his head above water and seeking the empowerment to make a difference.

2. Why are you taking the course and what do want to get out of it?

--I took a class called the Romance of War last semester and I thought this would be an interesting compliment.

--My roommate took this class two years ago and it made a huge impression on her. She even became a vegetarian.

--It seemed like a novel English course to fulfill otherwise stuffy SFS requirements.

3. Your definition of peace?

--when diverse people can harmoniously co-exist without resorting to violence.

--it is that state where creativity is explored in substitute of naturally inclined violent habits. It is not about a rosy Kumbaya scenario where conflict is not evident but rather it’s about approaching conflict as human beings.

4. Give three answers to the question, who are you?

--a concerned citizen, a conflicted individual, an impressionable but contemplative person open to new ideas.

----confused college senior trying to figure out what to do with my life.

--a thinker and a seeker of truth.

--loyal, honest and friendly.

--I am always in search of something but I don’t know what it is I try to be a good person but find myself being hypocritical far too often. (I am) disillusioned with the present age.

5. Name ten brands of beer.

--Yengling, Iron City, Bud, Bitburger, Kolsuh, Heineken, Miller, Coors, Guiness, Harp.

--I don’t drink beer. It’s crappy and heavy and isn’t sweet.

6. Name ten pacifists.

--Gandhi, Allen Ginsberg, John Lewis, John Lennon, MLK Jr., Marley.

--Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Dali Lama, my Dad. Can’t think of any more.

--Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Thich Quang Duc.

--MLK, Gandhi, Buddha, Chris Tansey, Bono, the Pope, John Lewis, Father Maher, Meghan Devaney and Harriet Tubman.

--MLK, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Chris Gormley, George Bush, myself.

7. What do you stand for?

--For brutal honesty about oneself and energetic passion without alloweing others to make decisions for me.

--I stand for those who need someone to stand for them.

--I’m not quite sure yet.

--I stand for solid Roman Catholic morality.

Love (unbiased).