Lail Stockfish / Roundup
The Great Hall, normally filled with stacks of chairs and little red couches, is now filled with the “Victory Over Violence” exhibit, which aims to instill students with the urgency of world peace.
Sitting on the couch listening to music waiting to greet those who’ve come to see the exhibit he’s brought to Pierce, is Vice President of the Soka Lotus Club, Joseph Kurpjuweit.
Soka Lotus is a Buddhist based club oriented around “Transforming the human spirit from a culture of violence to a culture of peace,” according to Kurpjuweit,
These are also the first words to jump off the large panel poster facing the door.
This exhibit belongs to Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a non-government organization dedicated to promoting peace.
“My passion right now is world peace in its entirety,” said Kurpjuweit. “The first issue is to remove the world from nuclear weapons; to remove that fear.”
Justino Garcia stumbled in on his bike, “Tell me about nuclear disarmament,” he said to Kurpjuweit.
Kurpjuweit gestured to the mini maze made up of large canvas posters in the center of the room atop the patterned grey carpet and asked, “What do you know about it?”
On the posters were various quotes from influential leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Einstein and Gandhi, as well as anecdotes depicting different themes. Pictures of families, homeless, AIDS infected children, and great moments of history are printed on some, others have children with guns or headshots of influential people.
On each there is a message pertaining to the collective goal of the exhibit: ridding the world of nuclear weapons.
The air, although sincere, is light-hearted.
Garcia mentions something about a strawberry bagel.”It was the Bomb,” he said. Kurpjuweit jokingly responds, “No. It was food.”
One person who isn’t laughing is Pierce College Student Hannah Bower. This is a topic she feels passionately about. For her, World War II brought the idea of a nuclear war very close to home.
“My mother is Japanese so I’ve been taught a different history perspective, the two nuclear bombs had a truly devastating effect on the people there, not only instantly but even until this day,” said Bower.
She was referring to the after effects of the nuclear radiation produced by Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
“How could you ignore history and be doomed to repeat it,” she said. “And the effects are going to be much worse, I don’t know why people would want to end the world like that.”
“We’re throwing money away at these death machines when people are hungry. It’s ridiculous,” she continued.
This exhibit, although focusing on the disarmament of nuclear weapons has other messages to be learned.
Marvin Ordono found different possibilities in the display of panels.
“This can be an eye opener,” he said. ” Here in America we’re so self involved in things like celebrities, this can cause people to think and change their mindset on how they live.”
According to Kurpjuweit, this is a traveling showcase.
“This exhibit is global. it’s been in many different countries and languages,” said Kurpjuweit. “This one i know has been to CSUN and other colleges around here.”
Although the traffic is light, Kurpjuweit claimed that since the exhibit’s opening on April 26 he’s seen at least 500 people walk through the doors.
The exhibit will remain in the Great Hall until Thursday, but could be back in three weeks for an Associated Students Organization (ASO) sponsored event with guest speakers, according to Kurpjuweit.
In the mean time Kurpjuweit, who is also a youth leader running a poetry group and a hip-hop vocalist, is helping to organize and promote “Rock the Era,” a youth festival in Long Beach Calif. on July 10.
“You live a full life. You have a lot of memories,” he said.
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Joseph Kurpjuweit (left) view the displays about warning about the dangers of nuclear weapons with a guest in the Great Hall for the “Victory over Violence” exhibit. (Louie Heredia / Roundup)
Joseph Kurpjuweit sets up the displays stressing the importance of peace across the globe. (Louie Heredia / Roundup)
