BY DAVE CHOATE

After two weeks, students in the Saint Anselm College’s Colloquium on Peace, Reconciliation, Social Justice and Global Citizenship were worn out from the extensive discussions.

Despite that, they didn’t hesitate to talk about what they had learned since the program began on July 1.

“I think it really gave us an awareness of things going on outside our environment and how we can resolve them. I think we can take the lessons in our own lives, to figure out how we can become better people,” said student Brendan Lynch.

The colloquium was host to 11 students, seven from Saint Anselm and four from St. Mary’s University College in Belfast, Ireland. Students had intensive sessions which included lectures, workshops and discussions on topics such as racism, forgiveness and human rights crises in Rwanda and the Congo.

Program director and criminal justice professor Elaine Rizzo said the chance to bring two groups of students from different countries together was a rewarding experience.

She said comments from students made it more rewarding still.

“There have been students talking about keeping in touch after they’ve returned to their respective homes and forming a joint organization. Another student who was sick of everything going on in Northern Ireland said ‘It’s really surprising me to me, but I’m thinking of doing some peace work – and not leaving the country,’” Rizzo said.

The project was brought together by Rizzo and Karen Kelly, the executive director of inter-community group Projects for Global Harmony. Rizzo said Kelly had done work in Ireland and was familiar with St. Mary’s, a Catholic school in “a difficult area” of the island.

“Karen Kelly talked to me about collaborating on a peace and reconciliation project, and Saint Anselm’s has also taken a strong interest in global citizenship. It seemed as though all the elements were there, from peace studies to justice to citizenship, and we decided to put them together,” Rizzo said.

The last lecture was on Friday, July 13, and dealt with some of the psychological issues of forgiveness and conflict.

Lecturer Dr. Loretta Brady, a psychology professor at Saint Anselm, touched on the emotions involved in forgiveness and how difficult it is to show those who have been through tragedy that they have an opportunity to grow after the experience.

The colloquium was set to disband on July 14, with the Irish students flying back to Belfast in the afternoon.

Irish student Sean Chapman said the theme of global togetherness was not lost on him.

“It’s been refreshing to see what people across the pond think about the situation in North America and the world. To see what they think of conflict zones, and how we can resolve them. You can draw similarities,” Chapman said.

Rizzo said she and the school hope to bring back the colloquium next year. She’s hopeful that the students who expressed such powerful sentiments will continue the work they started in over the last two weeks.

“One of the powerful messages of the colloquium for most students seemed to be the way students played major roles in civil rights movements. The educated young have an ability and responsibility to make a difference in this world,” Rizzo said.