Rotareminder for Nov. 7, 2023

Sandy Roeger provided the musical accompaniment for “America” and “Let there be Peace on Each.” Todd Kamanesh offered the invocation.

 

There were a number of announcements:

 

- Amanda Senn and Rachel Kerns are accepting toys for the annual toy drive. They are also looking for volunteers to help with distribution in December.

- Nov. 11 is the Kent Senior Service Day, where volunteers bring their own rakes, tarps, and leaf blowers, and clear leaves from the yards of senior citizens in our community. You can find more information here: https://riverwoodchapel.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1981515

- Nov. 16 is the District Foundation gala.

- Nov. 16 is also the Tree City Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony. You can register for it here: https://www.kentbiz.com/events/details/kacc-tree-city-annual-dinner-awards-ceremony-3749

- The Rotary Club is taking reservations for the annual Christmas party during the next two meetings.

 

The student of the month for November is Zoe Beck, and eighth grader at Stanton Middle School. Apart from her academic achievements, Zoe is entrepreneurial and eager to serve others. Zoe and two of her friends started a baking business, going door to door in their neighborhood offering pre-orders. This year, they decided to take some of their profits and purchase school supplies for the Kent Police Department and Kent Social Services school supply drive. The girls also dropped off some baked goods for the police department. The girls were featured on the police Facebook and Instagram pages.

 

This week’s program featured Neil Cooper, director of the School of Peace and Conflict Studies at Kent State. He began the program by mentioning that Rotary International sponsors fellows at peace institutes around the world who focus not only on academic study but also practice.

 

At KSU, the school offers several programs for students interested in pursuing careers in diplomacy, conflict resolution and related fields. There are four main programs: an undergraduate major and minor in Peace and Conflict Studies, an undergraduate minor in Environment, Peace and Justice, a master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies, and a graduate certificate with the business school called Leading Through Change.

 

Scholars in the school have expertise in diverse areas, including democracy, arms trade and control, May 4, gender, environmental conflict, ethnic conflict, mediation and negotiation, and the political economy of conflict and peace. The school has a tradition of focusing on applied peace work, especially mediation and conflict resolution.

 

The school has many plans for 2024. There will be a visiting academic professor from Durham University in the UK named Roger MacGinty, and the school will host its first ever “Scholar at Risk.” The school will also host a multidisciplinary conference and is planning new degree programs with the KSU business school and with the University of Rwanda.

 

Dr. Cooper shared a graph showing the number of active state-based conflicts around the world from 1946 to 2020. The number is now higher than ever during that period. But he pointed out that around 2010 there was a drop in the number of conflicts. The reason for the drop is because the people working on peace agreements were successful. Their work makes a difference, and people graduating from Kent State’s program can be part of the solution.

 

Tom Hatch gave the response.