URI students teach nonviolence methods

URI scholar-in-residence Bernard LaFayette (left) with graduate student Mike Kittredge.

URI students teach nonviolence methods

Young, a former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Georgia congressman, now chairs the Atlanta-based GoodWorks International and teaches public affairs at Georgia State University. Young is just one of the leaders in the practice of nonviolence from around the world who will come to URI to share their knowledge and successes. A partial list of workshop leaders includes: Dr. C. T. Vivian, Center for Democratic Renewal, USA; Dr. N. Radhakrishman, Gandhi Smriti & Harshal Samitit, New Dehli, India; Luis Javier Botero, Global Lean of Colombia; the Rev. Joseph Tshawane of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Nonviolence isn't for wimps, rather it's for the courageous. That's one of the Kingian nonviolence messages graduate student Mike Kittredge and five undergraduate students have brought to the R.I. Training School this past semester.

And it appears those messages just might be hitting home. "When someone tries to egg me on, I try to avoid him," explained a young resident who prefers to be called Mister. "I just say the six principles (of nonviolence) to myself."

Another resident named Zack isn't sure how he is applying nonviolence, but he said he thinks "subconsciously it's teaching me."

Mister and Zack are part of an experiment initiated by Dr. Bernard LaFayette, scholar-in-residence and director of URI's Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. LaFayette would like to see if the incarcerated students, all of whom were selected as leaders by their peers and training school staff, can not only change the atmosphere of the training school, but also change their lives. "This is their opportunity to lead in a different direction," said LaFayette.

The training school has a capacity for 179 residents ranging in age from 12 to 21. The majority of the residents are male, but there is a female unit that houses around 30. Crimes range from drug possession, assault and rape, to murder. Drug-related crimes are the most common.

"At first, the residents didn't want to respond. It wasn't macho or cool, but you could see an internal interest," recalled Kittredge who managed the week-to-week training as his master's in college student personnel project. "Then the barriers came down."

Twenty residents, all volunteers, began the program, eight have since been released and two dropped out. All residents who completed the training earned a certificate in nonviolence.

Each week, Kittredge and the other URI mentors met with their mentees. The 90-minute classes consisted of a lesson, an activity, and small group discussions.

Seeking a diverse group of URI mentors, Kittredge went to the Latin American Student Organization and asked for volunteers. Ivette Luna, a management information systems major, raised her hand. Born in the Dominican Republic, Luna is bilingual. Other mentors were Claudette Bannerman, Carol Arcinegas, Jen Wheatley, and Shannon Finneran. URI police officer Linda Palazzo, who holds a nonviolence training certificate, also volunteered in the effort. The student mentors earned internship credit from URI's Center for Student Involvement whose director, Christine Wilson, provided the inmates with a lesson in nonviolent activism.

Kittredge plans two follow-ups this summer and one next fall to see how the participants are doing. "Only time will tell," he said. "The training went very well. However, the residents are still a little rough around the edges and would truly benefit from an extended course."

By Jan Sawyer