Students paint for world peace

West Chronicle Orange, West Orange, NJ
Thursday, March 27, 2008

"Students paint for world peace"
By Tony Edelstein Correspondent

The goals of high school students these days are quite impressive as the competition to be admitted into the best universities is at a record high. Other goals are perennial, such as landing a first choice prom date.

Then there are the students in Diane Tol's Art 3 class and Art Club. They have added one more goal to their list - help achieve world peace. The students have spent a good part of the year working on peacerelated activities which have all led up to the culminating project of painting a peace mural that will be sent to a youth organization in the West African country of Ghana. In return, the youths of Ghana will send their own peace mural to West Orange High School.

The art swap is part of an effort called the Global Mural Exchange for Peace, which bills itself as " the largest cultural art exchange ever in history." It is a project of the non- profit organization Where Peace Lives, which was created by a West Orange resident, Jeff Rudy, and his two partners. " We wanted to create something that would alter the conversation about peace," said Rudy, the development director of Where Peace Lives, and a graduate of Mountain High School, the former name of West Orange High School.

The idea for the organization grew out of a six- month leadership course that Rudy and his two partners, Jeff and Donna Clapp, a married couple from Red Bank, attended. Prior to the course, Rudy did not know the Clapps, but they bonded over their common desire to try to make the world a better place. Rudy said they now call themselves "Donna and the Jeffs."

In the hope of furthering their collective vision, they have created a curriculum that encourages students to think about peace at three levels: the individual, the community and the world. The lessons lay the groundwork for the creation of a peace mural that can be exchanged with that of a group in another country.

So far, two other New Jersey schools, one in Somerset and one in Wall, have exchanged murals with groups in Egypt and Peru, respectively. The creators of the murals are encouraged to depict their personal visions of peace.

"The murals are an expression of what is possible," Rudy said.

But the process of agreeing on a mural design can test the conflict resolution skills of the participants. At West Orange High, approximately 40 students are involved in the project, and just as many opinions had to be considered.

"I never knew that creating a peace mural would not be peaceful," Tol said. "It required a lot of digging for everyone's personal visual sign of peace."

Tiana Dorner, an 11th grade student, observed that the participants had to practice what they preached.

"At times we had to stop and say, 'Remember, we're working on a peace project,'" Dorner said. The students finally settled on a tree as their symbol of peace. The mural will show people reaching for branches of the tree to symbolize the universal desire for peace and will also contain quotes from famous peace activists.

It will be created with acrylic paint on two canvasses, each measuring 4 feet by 9 feet. The canvasses will then be rolled up and shipped to the youth club in Ghana. "It's sort of neat that it will travel halfway across the world and be seen in Africa," said Elise Powers, an 11th grade student.

While the students do not expect their mural will bring world peace, they see it as a contribution to the larger effort of creating a worldwide culture of peace.

" It's one of the components to make the world a more peaceful place," said senior Garrett Harvest. "It's a first step, but a big step."

"The impact will probably take a while," Powers said. "We just need people to see it and then peace will sort of grow through time."

The students also recently attended the United Nations' Gandhi- KingChavez Season of Non- Violence Youth Conference.

Harvest observed that the most moving part of the experience came when all the attendees waved flags from nations around the world to represent the wish for international peace. Last year at the same conference, the first peace mural was unveiled. Rudy imagines that the world would be a very different place if youths regularly had a voice at the United Nations.

"What if instead of politicians, kids spoke about what it is like to live in conflict," Rudy suggested. "Wouldn't that shake things up?"

Of course, peace is an elusive goal. "I wonder if the world will ever be a peaceful place," Tol said. "It's burning in my mind, and it must be burning in their minds. They are the future." The West Orange High students have at least contributed something toward the goal of achieving peace. Now it's up to the rest of us to get on board.

Tony Edelstein can be reached at wochronicle@thelocalsource.com