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March
2000
Students
Organize to
"End School Violence Now"
Reports of violence in high schools
around the nation gripped the hearts of students at the
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Maharishi School of
the Age of Enlightenment in Fairfield, Iowa. Among themselves they knew
the Transcendental Meditation technique was a solution. But what could
they do to help their fellow students?
When Laura DeAngelis was invited by
Congressman Boswell to attend the Voices Against Violence conference in
Washington, D.C., the students knew it was time to stop talking and start
acting.
On January 3, 2000, these students
inaugurated a non-profit organization, End School Violence Now (ESVN), to
bring the TM technique to the awareness of students, educators and
political figures around the country. It already has 12 chapters with over
100 members.
"We know this program
works," says senior Laura Moses. "We felt a responsibility to
start this. We’re not trying to recruit people to our school. They can
have this technique in their own school."
"People aren’t really
addressing the problem properly," adds ESVN President Joseph
Jorgensen. "They go around in circles. Their attention is on the
problem and it’s not getting anywhere. We have something to offer.
Senior Laura DeAngelis agrees,
"You can give students as many rules as you want, you can get rid of
guns or knives. But getting rid of weapons is not going to stop violence
because it’s not the weapons committing the crime. It’s the violent
kid. Only nourishment from within the student himself can replace stress
and anger with peace and happiness."
"Many students are like a
smokestack with a plug," says ESVN member Kevin Incorvia.
"Eventually the smokestack will explode. But if you put a vent on
the smokestack the smoke goes through smoothly. TM is the vent for
reducing stress. When the stress is reduced students don’t have to take
it out on other students."
ESVN has prepared a videotape and a
press packet. To request copies call 515- 472-6203, fax 515-472-9715,
e-mail esvn@lisco.com, or visit their Web site www.endschoolviolencenow.org.
ESVN Students Speak to Their
Generation
On January 29, 2000, members of
ESVN spoke at the Youth Summit on
Non-Violence in Lakewood, Colorado. Over
600 students and parents attended. "We came to inform people about
our practical solution to end school violence," says Joseph
Jorgensen, National President of ESVN. "We can’t continue to let
our generation suffer." After ESVN’s presentation, a show of hands
indicated about three-fourths of the audience felt the TM technique was an
approach that would be valuable in reducing violence in schools.
Members of ESVN will also be speaking
at these upcoming events:
- March 4, 2000—Center
for Consciousness-Based SM
Education, San Diego, CA.
- April 25, 2000—The
Ford Hall Forum, Boston, MA.
- April 30, 2000—The
Brain and Learning Conference, Cambridge, MA.
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