UW-Madison political science professor Howard Schweber will be the keynote speaker at this fall's UW Peace Day on Sept. 21.
According to Schweber, the idea for Peace Day models the theme of Earth Day: the hope of raising awareness about peace and conflict.
The idea here is to try to call people's attention to factors that might not be obvious, that allow peace in the world to be a possibility,"" Schweber said.
Schweber's own intent with Peace Day is to address a question of attitude and mentality.
""I want to get people to think about what kinds of social attitudes are conducive to the possibility of peace,"" he said. ""We do our best to the world when we challenge our deepest selves. If peace is to be seriously pursued, people need to be willing to leave behind their authentic self and think in a more universal and cosmopolitan way.""
UW-Madison senior and organizer of Peace Day Todd Brogan said he realized the event needed a speaker who could connect with a student audience on an intellectual level.
""This is not an anti-war rally. It's a peace rally '¦ We didn't want a speaker to show up and make this event a partisan event,"" Brogan said.
According to Brogan, the UW Peace Day Committee initiated a profiling process to select a keynote speaker, which included polling its members. Schweber won with 60 percent of the vote.
""People just read and made their own decisions, and Howard Schweber came out on top,"" Brogan said. ""Schweber has done a good job of straddling the line and being as non-partisan as possible.""
The non-partisan mentality will be valued at the event, considering the wide variety of groups participating.
According to Brogan, some of the groups to first get involved with Peace Day were Action in Sudan, Engineers Without Borders, Students for McCain and College Democrats.
""There are kind of two levels, the collaborators who help get speakers and supporters, and groups in the community who have expressed support for us and help us get people to turn out at the event,"" Brogan said.
Schweber said he is excited about speaking and feels a sense of honor in participating with UW Peace Day activities.
""I'm looking forward to [Peace Day] tremendously and my hope is to rise to the occasion.
