International Day of Peace Event

On Thursday, September 21st, Delta Phi Epsilon (DPE) - the Foreign Service Society - and Amnesty International (AI) hosted an even for the International Day of Peace on the JMU campus. It was coordinated by Terrence Fagan. He and Dr. Kerry Crawford gave their remarks on the event. Approximately 30 students and faculty were present for the planting of an October Glory Maple tree that was provided by an anonymous donor to commemorate the International Day of Peace.

You may find a copy of Mr. Fagan's remarks here and a copy of Dr. Crawford's remarks here.

Students from DPE and AI were stationed in the Miller courtyard between 11 am and 3 pm to have JMU community members pledge to take on a Peace Day Challenge.

DPE has largely contributed to the JMU community. In addition to hosting this event, DPE has been active in supporting several groups in the Harrisonburg area and beyond. In the early days of the organization, they helped collect coats for Rocktown Rallies for Refugees. Last year, in an effort to increase their philanthropy, they volunteered with Rocktown Rallies again for their refugee welcome party. DPE also had a week-long event called Aleppo Awareness Week with different activities each night to highlight the cause of refugees. The funds collected during that week went to supporting the UNHCR and the White Helmets organization.

In addition, DPE has sponsored a soup dinner called Soup for Syria. This year, besides the International Day of Peace, they plan on continuing their support for Rocktown Rallies with another refugee welcome party and supporting their charity for the year, UNICEF. Many of the DPE members support other charities with their time and effort. Fostering Abyssinia, Camp Kasem, and working in clinics in rural villages in Africa are just a few examples of causes they support on an individual basis. They bring those skills and passions and put them to work for a common cause within the fraternity.