Our Lady Peace

Longtime dream of adding a female statue to the Peace Garden will soon become a reality

By Ashley Lowe

For Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, the Peace Garden has been a dream. A dream of a serene place where members of the campus community could embrace and celebrate the rich diversity of their lives and appreciate those who have made a significant impact on the world in a peaceful way. A dream he sees in reality every time he looks out the window of his office, which has a perfect view of the Peace Garden. But his dream is not complete. Even with memorials of such prominent leaders as Mahatma Gandhi, Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr., the peace garden is still missing one important thing—a female leader.

“ When the Peace Garden was formed and the statues were added one by one, I knew my dream wouldn’t be complete without the addition of a female non-violent leader,” said Kapoor, chair of the Peace Garden Committee. “I’m glad it’s finally happening.” If Kapoor has it his way, Jane Addams, the chosen female statue, will be added to the peace garden across from the statue of Martin Luther King Jr. “as early as possible.” Kapoor was thrilled when the decision was made and University President John Welty made the formal announcement. “I’m pleased to announce that we will be honoring Jane Addams, who is an

inspiration to all of us for her dedication to helping people and the cause of peace,” Welty said in a press release shortly after the decision was made. “I hope many individuals will join in our effort to add a monument to the peace garden.”

According to the Peace Garden Web site, Addams co-founded the Hull-House, which was the first settlement house in the United States, was president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931. The decision process that led to choosing Addams was no easy task for the Women of Peace Committee. Once they agreed a female addition was needed to the Peace Garden, women’s studies majors gathered nominations from the campus and community and wrote short biographies on each to submit to the Peace Garden Steering Committee, who would make the final decision.

“ The students posted lists of the nominees in the USU, on the Peace Garden Web site and visited classes to explain the project,” said Jeannine Raymond, vice president of administrative services and chair of the Women of Peace Committee. “We even postponed choosing the person to make sure students had

the maximum input.”

Once the nominations were final, the Steering Committee had several constructive discussions and meetings before choosing Addams. While the Steering Committee’s job is finished, the Women of Peace are far from completing the project.

“ We will be using 2004 to find an artist for the statue and raise money to fund it,” Raymond said. “That involves forming more committees with experts

in art and financing.”

Financing the statue is going to be challenging because, according to Kapoor, the statue will probably cost between $60,000-65,000. Most of the funding for the statue is going to come from private donations.

A finance committee is currently being organized. According to Sharon Brown-Welty, chair of the finance committee, the plan is to have a group of community people who will serve as the steering committee and university people as part of the asking team.

“ The community people will be asked to provide contacts for individual donors the university committee members can contact to solicit donations,” Brown-Welty said.

According to Kapoor, not all the money will come from private donations, though the majority will.

“ We are planning to go to the AS and ask for help since they have helped in the past,” Kapoor said. “We will also raise funds from the community and on campus.”

Many students, faculty and staff have worked hard to make the Addams statue a possibility. Students and faculty are excited about the new addition coming to the Peace Garden.

“ I have always wondered why there were no women in the peace garden,” said biology major Christine Wong. “The addition of a female is a sign that history has finally caught up with the present.”

“ The statue represents a segment of our community that has contributed a lot and is commonly overlooked,” Raymond said. “I hope it is not just a statue, but an educational process as well.”

While adding Addams will be a big step toward achieving the goals Kapoor set for the Peace Garden, there is still more to be completed.

“ There are plans to add a memorial for American Indians and a peace wall representing all the cultural groups served in the valley,” Kapoor said. “The Peace Garden isn’t finished… yet.”