SHU students Michelle Redmond, freshman, and Jessica Braccio, senior, show their support
Thirty-six citizens gathered in front of the Greensburg Courthouse on Saturday, January 28, 2006 in protest. Sponsored by youth-led group Suburban Awakening (SA), the mixed group of young and old gathered to show solidarity and opposition to the war in Iraq.
Ryan Williams and Lindsey Praksti, local activists and co-founders of SA, have been involved with the Pittsburgh Organizing Group (P.O.G.) for several months.
By Moira Richardson,
Contributor
Thirty-six citizens gathered in front of the Greensburg Courthouse on Saturday, January 28, 2006 in protest. Sponsored by youth-led group Suburban Awakening (SA), the mixed group of young and old gathered to show solidarity and opposition to the war in Iraq.
Ryan Williams and Lindsey Praksti, local activists and co-founders of SA, have been involved with the Pittsburgh Organizing Group (P.O.G.) for several months.
�We noticed that there wasn’tmuch going on in Greensburg, � we wanted to see what could happen out here,� Williams said.
�It’s all about solidarity and trying to find people that never had a chance to get their voice heard on a bigger level,� he continued.
Praksti agreed, saying she hoped �to get people together to realize that there are other people thinking like them.�
�You can be an activist without being obnoxious,� Michelle Keenan, Greensburg resident and yoga instructor, said.
�So many people complain about the state of the world, but they don’tdo anything. But we do have a voice,� she continued.
�And we need to be able to express that voice while having respect for others.�
Keenan came to the event with her son Jordan.
�We need to instill in our children the importance of standing up for themselves if they see something they don’tlike,� she said. �It’s okay to question our leaders and to disagree with them.�
Michelle Redmond, freshman political science and history major, attended �to stand up and voice my opinion on politics and the war.�
�I feel it’s time that people expressed themselves, and I think that a positive peaceful protest is the appropriate action,� she said.
�There are plenty of people who believe what we believe, they�re just afraid to come out and stand on a corner and say it,� she said.
Duquesne University junior, Cathy Knowles hoped that this event would encourage �people in our area to start getting together for the same causes.�
Wanda Guthrie from Pittsburgh, an activist, came to Greensburg to show her support for the new group. She is also raising awareness for Eyes Wide Open, an traveling exhibit displaying boots and shoes that Guthrie hopes will encourage �reflection and listening and understanding of the human costs of war.�
Local business owner, Tim Krupar said, �I was told a long time ago not to be anti-something be pro-something, so I�m here to promote peace and non-violence.�
Krupar’s store in Greensburg, From the Ground Up, features screenings of �mind-opening films� on weekends and a free literature section.
�I�m really just trying to teach kids a different way of living that brings more peace to their lives so they can extend it to others,� he said.
�A real awakening is when people can close their eyes to � what they hear everyday and what influences them,� Reese Bronick, SA member, said.
�[This awakening will] create an energy and a vibrance and a life that won’tbe controlled. That is exactly what will achieve our goals.�
Learning about S.A. proved to be a relief for Bernie Survil, Greensburg resident and ordained priest, who protests each Saturday at the bypass by McDonald’s 119 / 30 and finished early to join S.A’s protest. �Now I can retire and not worry� things are going to go on.�
Kevin McCormick, junior, is not so sure. �[This group] might influence someone else to do something,� he says. �But I guarantee all these people drove cars to get here.�
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