Arun Gandhi to headline SFA leadership conference
October 25, 2011
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Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi (Photo Credit Scott Kafora)
The event begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom, and admission is free. Students are highly encouraged to take part in this prestigious, once-in-a-lifetime event. The RSVP form is available at https://forms.sfasu.edu/studentaffairs/odk-rsvp.asp.
Gandhi, who lived with his grandfather for 18 months, is a renowned speaker and activist who has continued working in his grandfather's footsteps. Together with his wife, he founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence headquartered at the University of Rochester in New York. The institute's mission is to foster understanding of nonviolence and how to put that philosophy to practical use through lectures, workshops and community outreach programs.
Following Gandhi's keynote, participants may choose from a number of educational sessions presented by SFA student leaders, faculty and staff. Lunch is included.
The closing speaker is Karen Walrond, author of "The Beauty of Different" and the popular blog Chookooloonks (www.chookooloonks.com). Walrond orchestrated a "photobomb" when members of a church in Florida threatened to burn copies of the Quran on the front lawn. She asked readers to mail her peaceful photos to be delivered to the church, and hundreds responded to her call for action.
Walrond will be available for a book signing at the close of conference. Copies of her book are available for purchase at SFA's Barnes & Noble bookstore in the student center.
ODK is sponsoring its own "Peace Project," and peaceful photos may be submitted to sfapeaceproject@gmail.com
The conference is cosponsored by the Office of Student Affairs Programs, the Office of the Dean of Student Affairs and the Office of Multicultural Affairs, with additional support from the SFA School of Honors and E-Tech.
For more information, contact Jamie Bouldin, SFA's assistant director for leadership and service, at jfbouldin@sfasu.edu.