By Nicole Boucher
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Dozens of members of the Hofstra community came to the Cultural Center Theater on Thursday to celebrate International Day of Nonviolence and the launch of the Institute of Peace Studies within the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE).
Many were also there to celebrate the official retirement of Michael D’Innocenzo, co-founder of CCE, who has been at Hofstra for 55 years.
D’Innocenzo has been involved in student activism since high school and continued his engagement when he came to work at Hofstra in 1960. Speaking about CCE, he said part of its goal was to make people “think globally while working locally.”
The center, which was officially opened on Feb. 2, 2007, is now creating an Institute for Peace Studies, at the request of D’Innocenzo.
“Maybe by next year, we’ll actually have a whole program where students can take courses in peace studies,” said Professor Martin Melkonian, who is active in the center and helped organize Thursday’s event.
The night began with a welcome from Professor Linda Longmire. After noting that the International Day of Nonviolence is technically celebrated the next day, on Gandhi’s birthday, she referred to D’Innocenzo as “our own personal Gandhi.”
One of Hofstra’s a cappella groups, Hofstra Hofbeats, then performed renditions of “Yesterday” by the Beatles, “Fallin’” by Alicia Keys, and “Still Into You” by Paramore. Their performance was followed by students reciting poems by prominent people from around the world calling for peace and justice.
The music continued with a piece titled “A November Mystery”, composed by Professor Herbert A. Deutsch from the music department. Deutsch was the only professor in the room to have matched D’Innocenzo’s 55 year record at Hofstra.
Professor Greg Maney, co-director of the CCE, spoke about the work the center has done and his hopes for the future. He mentioned their efforts to prevent bullying, increase high school graduation rates and provide housing for low-income families.
“Nonviolence is a philosophy, it’s a strategy, it’s a way of acting that makes the world a more just and peaceful place,” Maney said. Throughout the event, a petition was passed around in the audience asking people to commit support to nonviolence.
Maney attributed much of the Center’s success to the Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, whose executive director, Margaret Melkonian, also spoke. She praised the “tireless activism” of D’Innocenzo, and mentioned the Peace Fellows, a student group from the CCE. At the end of her speech, she referenced a quote from Gandhi and said to the audience, “Let us go out and shake the world.”
The Peace Poets, a spoken-word and hip-hop group from Harlem, gave one of the most anticipated performances of the night. They encouraged the audience to interact and join in during their songs. Their poems addressed hardships and injustices in today’s society.
During his remarks, D’Innocenzo spoke about Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaigns during the civil rights movement, D’Innocenzo’s own involvement in peaceful protests and what he witnessed others do for their causes.
The night was closed out with a performance of Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” by Makin’ Treble, another Hofstra a capella group. Afterward, all audience members were offered a piece of “peace cake.”