FARMINGTON – Students at the University of Maine at Farmington will be hosting a dinner for veterans and their families tomorrow as part of a Peace Studies seminar taught by Professor Doug Rawlings.
The dinner is scheduled for Wednesday Nov. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Old South Church. The event is free and open to the public, with a special encouragement to veterans and people in their lives. The students will be making two different chilis: vegetarian and turkey, with cornbread, salad, pies and cookies. The event has been completely student-led, from the making of the meal, to creating t-shirts with a custom logo printed by Black Bear Graphics.
The students also took on the task of gathering donations to cover the cost of ingredients for the meal. Together they raised nearly $200 from local donations. Some of the donations came from UMF staff, however one student, Liv Scott, took the time to create a Facebook page for the event, requesting donations from her hometown community of Kingfield.
The 16 students taking the Peace Studies class said they organized the event to show the community that they care.
“We want to let them know that we aren’t just ignorant college students. We care about what they did and that they served,” one student said.
The event will include a 50/50 raffle. Tickets are $1 or $4 for five, with half of the proceeds going to the winner. The other half will be given to the University Bookstore for gift certificates toward veterans on campus. There are currently 20 veteran students attending UMF, according to Rawlings. Each has been given a personal invitation to the dinner.
As part of the course, students study the philosophy of nonviolent direct action and its applications in the United States and elsewhere. They have been reading about and discussing the nature of war and some specific wars, predominantly the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. Hosting the dinner fulfills one requirement of the course, which is to participate in a community service project.
“It’s about seeing it from a peaceful perspective and learning what we can do better in the future. It’s about kindness and problem solving with creative thinking. It’s always good to gather peacefully with our community and support those who aren’t always supported,” Sophomore Sarah Taylor said.
As a veteran and a former UMF student I am appalled by the school itself, when I came home I chose to attend USM instead, even though I moved back to Farmington. Why you ask? Remember the flag demonstration where students placed flags all over the floor of the student center which is not only immoral, it is also illegal. It is on YouTube, and all I can remember is an older Vietnam veteran claiming he was going to pick up the flags in the student center, and Theo Kalikow had her smug look on her face telling him if he disturbed the “project” he would be arrested. UMF is a joke and disgrace to veterans. I do applaud the students in the class, but as an institution a veterans GI bill is much better used somewhere else.
I think it would have been nice if local restaurants had appreciated us veterans with discounts, however not so. Have to drive to a city. I don’t expect anything. It would have just been a nice jester.Thank you all for serving and please respect our Flag!!
That video is difficult to watch but is also a good reminder of why we served — to protect the rights of people to do things that we find abhorrent. One has to wonder, though, if this sort of thing has not contributed to declining enrollment in liberal arts campuses, resulting in dorm closures, staff reductions, increased reliance on adjunct faculty and other cost-cutting measures as people consider their educational options and go another way.
Perhaps this is an unintended example of dying for your beliefs. And let us not forget art student Susan Crane, who brought the project to the floor so to speak.
I totally agree that’s why I served so people could retain their rights. However, placing a flag on the ground and stepping on it is not only distasteful it is actually illegal. I have no issues with NFL players kneeling during the anthem because they are within their right, but I just view UMF as not veteran friendly; hence the reason I chose to attend USM as another alternative. USM has an amazing veteran support channel and legitimately respects veterans and the sacrifices they have made. For the article to boast that UMF has 20 veteran students is comical, if they value diversity so much you would think they would push to attract more veterans. I digress, as I am happy to be a Husky!
Dear “Sustainability”: Your comments about the students’ veterans dinner are way off the mark in many ways. So, let’s list them: 1). The flags were not “all over the floor.” They were placed so that if passers-by chose to, they could walk around them. Most people did. The student’s art project was to explore how people would respond to the sight of having the flag replicas placed in their path. Oh, and by the way, it is counter to protocol to have the flag placed horizontally, just like we see every Sunday in every NFL football stadium across the nation (and take a look at how the flag is “stored” after their ceremonies are finished). So, true enough, the flag is often “abused” in our culture– from clothing designers to people who don’t bring the flag in from their porches at night, etc. To single out the UMF art student is absurd; 2). Theo Kalikow “looking smug.” Hmmm. That’s your impression, I suppose. But I worked for her during her tenure at UMF, and I never remember her looking smug; angry, yes; outraged at injustice, yes. Proud of the students at UMF, yes. And let me tell you something — we brought the Vietnam Veterans Traveling Wall to UMF years ago. I arranged for it to be at UMF — once that was secured, I went to Theo to ask her for help raising funds for The Wall. She said, “no. No need to raise the funds. I will pay for it all. ” And she did. We also had to provide 24 hour security for the installation for three days. We did. How? Students came forward and volunteered to stand guard over The Wall day and night. Oh, and by the way, I am a Vietnam veteran; 3). No one is “boasting about” veteran enrollment at UMF. We are proud to have 20 veterans on campus. Just a fact; 4). I am so pleased that you are a Husky, the second best campus in the University of Maine system; and 5). let us remember that many Americans in this great country “sacrifice” and serve — I am thinking of teachers, doctors, nurses, social workers’ and on and on. They just do their work honorably and don’t constantly look for affirmation. We military veterans would be wise to do the same.