UCLA Press release: Peace Pole

For Immediate Use Jan. 21, 2009

As conflicts rage across the globe, UCLA students dedicate campus 'peace pole'

Showing solidarity in their commitment to peace within UCLA's diverse campus community and throughout the world, UCLA students, along with Chancellor Gene Block, will dedicate a "peace pole" at a campus ceremony at noon on Friday, Jan. 23. UCLA's peace pole is a handcrafted monument that displays the message "May peace prevail on earth" in 14 languages. The planting and dedication of such poles by communities interested in making a public statement about peace is a tradition that spans the globe. According to the nonprofit World Peace Prayer Society, there are today more than 200,000 peace poles in 180 countries. Well-known peace pole locations include the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan, the former World Trade Center site in New York City, and South Africa's Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Students organized the dedication to show their collective support for peace and tolerance at a university that attracts students from diverse communities and nations around the world. Although several smaller universities in the United States have dedicated peace poles, UCLA will be the first major American university to do so. In addition to brief remarks by Chancellor Block, Homaira Hosseini, president of UCLA's Undergraduate Students Association Council, and Ben Moore, the student who initiated the idea, students will read the peace pole's inscriptions in 14 languages: English, Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, Mandarin, Vietnamese, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Russian, Hindi, French, German and Japanese.

WHAT:Dedication of UCLA peace pole
WHO: Attending the dedication ceremony will be UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and UCLA students.
WHEN:Noon, Friday, Jan. 23
WHERE:Meyerhoff Park, UCLA campus (campus map: www.maps.ucla.edu/campus)
MEDIA CONTACT:Elizabeth Kivowitz Boatright-Simon, UCLA Office of Media Relations, ekivowitz@support.ucla.edu, 310-466-8769