Kathy Kelly encourages students to create peace

On March 24, through The Sister Mary Schmidt Lecture Series, Seton Hill University (SHU) welcomed three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly to campus for a lecture entitled “Eyewitness to War, Witness for Peace, at home and abroad.”

By Chelsea Oliver

Sports Editor

On March 24, through The Sister Mary Schmidt Lecture Series, Seton Hill University (SHU) welcomed three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Kathy Kelly to campus for a lecture entitled “Eyewitness to War, Witness for Peace, at home and abroad.”

Kelly, an international peace activist, told many stories about her work instead of giving a lecture to engage the mostly college-aged audience. “She didn’t just tell a story; she relived the story right before our eyes,” said Laura Patterson, associate professor of English.

One of the most compelling stories that Kelly told was about the peace movement that led to her time in prison. By leading a group of other peace activists to jump the fence of an army base and plant corn seeds next to weapons of mass destruction, Kelly landed herself behind bars for one year in a high security detention center. “The logic to me was very clear – instead of babying the weapons, I wanted to promote peace and take care of my students in the inner city of Chicago,” said Kelly.

Kelly also spoke about how students could get involved in creating peace. She gave many ideas for steps toward peacemaking in her handout from the lecture, including asking Congress to fund peace-building and diplomacy efforts.

The main message of Kelly’s lecture was that Americans do not see who the true terrorists are. “We have to be adults and realize that we are the terrorists against our own world. We need to live more simply, and who knows how to live more simply than college students?” said Kelly.

“Although I did not agree with everything she said because I think we need to help our own country with its problems before going to fix everyone else’s, overall I thought the lecture was wonderful. Kathy Kelly was very entertaining to listen to because she spoke in different ascents and moved around the stage to really get us involved in her stories,” said Laura Gonnella, a sophomore.

“Kathy Kelly is speaking out and standing up for others that cannot do so,” said Tina Richey, a sophomore. “She is very brave to work in other countries and is definitely someone to admire.”