Nicole Dovel

So often, we focus on global peace. While this is certainly a valuable endeavor, it is also important to consider the importance of personal peace.

In our culture, time is of the utmost importance. It is to be scheduled, used constructively, spent, lost, gained, or killed. Many times, Americans are more concerned with getting things done on time (aka on a predetermined, arbitrary schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal relations or maximizing intellectual benefit. Many time, this preoccupation with time comes at a cost to personal peace. Personal peace has to do with being content, fulfilled, living a satisfying purposeful life, and having balance between work and leisure. For me, I know I struggle between wanting to “do it all” (perfectly, of course), and between saying no because I know despite my best efforts, there will never be more than 24 hours in each day. When my life is balanced; when I feel purposeful, effective, and at peace with myself. I am much more productive. I have better health, and enjoy my life more because each experience I engage in has more meaning to me, and I interact with my life more. One clumsy way to describe this is to say that when I have “personal peace”, I am happier.

What would happen if more people tried to create balance in their lives and strived to live in a fashion where they ended each day feeling peace in their hearts? If each person was personally at peace, how would that change international relations? If people were in harmony with themselves, they would be in a position to discuss and work collaboratively to create a greater peace and harmony. Personal relationship coaches teach that before you are ready to be in a committed relationship with another person, you must first be complete and whole by yourself. Why isn’t this same advice applied to relationships on a grander scale? I’m not advocating for isolationism, but I am hoping that we as humans can begin to acknowledge that peace is a holistic approach, and cannot be accomplish in the western paradigm of “either/or”, but rather in the eastern “both/and”. Meaning that we cannot focus either globally or internally, but must instead incorporate both diplomatic relations, multinational organizations, and national efforts within our own borders. This improves foreign relations, and prepares our own country to be ready to deal with other countries and their different manners of living. Thus paving the way for peace.

We’re in a peace and diplomacy floor. So we are supposed to be learning about how to communicate, and how to resolve conflict. Immediate to our own daily lives is the fact that RMWC is now RC. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. The upperclassmen have had an amazing experience so far. They have been changed and empowered by being at RMWC. It had such an affect upon them, they do not want any aspect of that experience to change. However, one of the biggest and most notable distinctions of that particular experience is the fact that they attended a school with only female students. For various reasons this is no longer the case. It appears to me that while originally, this may have been a very important aspect in creating the setting for a life changing experience, what makes RC special goes beyond this. It encompasses the dedicated faculty, caring students, a desire to create a cohesive supportive community, and a recognition of the power of the young and the importance of honor and integrity. One way community is built is through shared experiences, such as skeller sings and silly traditions like the even/odd rivalry, ring week, and the pumpkin parade. Most unfortunately, the upperclassmen seem to have forgot what it was that they love about RMWC and what they supposedly believe in their heart. Their cruel rejection of the first year class and polarizing actions have done nothing but communicate to the first years that we are NOT welcome here. This is very sad because it could lead to a self fulfilling prophecy that the upperclassmen said; that this year’s first years are different, and don’t belong. By not welcoming the first years with open arms- as every other class was before us-the chain is broken. First years, excited by the prospect of creating themselves and of attending what they recognized as a very unique & special community, are now choosing to not be a part of the Randolph College community because of the way they were treated by upperclassmen. I hope that the upperclassmen will be able to recognize the destructive nature of their behavior. Yes, as individuals we may be accepted, but as a whole we are rejected. Randolph AND Randolph Macon are about accepting all types of people, and yes that does include men. Whether you (upperclassmen) are happy or not about the change, attacking first years- physically or emotionally- will only serve to cement the negative change you fear. What we as a school can learn from this is to be brave, and take action.