Professor of Philosophy Robert Holmes gave a talk called “Nonviolence, the Media and Public Perception” on Tuesday, Feb. 26. Holmes is an associate to the Gandhi Institute of Nonviolence, and his talk revolved around nonviolence in the media.
Holmes is a world-famous expert on issues of peace and nonviolence. He specializes in ethics and social and political philosophy. He is the author of many articles and several books. He even went to the first conference on nonviolence ever held in the former Soviet Union in November 1989. He has been a part of the UR faculty since 1962.
The talk was sponsored by WRUR Special Interest Housing and Nonviolence On Campus.
WRUR Special Interest Housing member and sophomore Karyn Socci organized the event. “It was a talk about how a lot of good non-violent things are happening that just aren’t recognized,” Socci said. “In the media, no one is paying attention to the nonviolent aspect. We see violence a lot, but there are a lot of nonviolent movements going on. One example is Palestinian women and Israeli women who walk together in peaceful protest and refuse to be enemies.”
Holmes talked about how the media often does not cover these nonviolent events. This is largely because protests are less active and harder to put on the news or in the media than conflict.
The talk was a success. “There was a better crowd than expected and people seemed interested. Holmes gave a question-and-answer section, and that went really well. People asked some really interesting questions,” Socci said.
Schneier is a member of the class of 2011.