SUNO hosts peace conference, voter registration cookout

Local residents and students register to vote during a SUNO-sponsored voter registration drive.

Southern University, New Orleans (SUNO), hosted the 9th Annual Conference for the National Association for Peace/Anti-Violence Education (NAPE), April 27-29 at the Sophie B. Wright School of Academic Excellence, in New Orleans.  

NAPE, founded by Rose Duhon-Sells, vice chancellor for academic affairs, promotes peace/anti-violence through training and seminars conducted by association members and community volunteers.

“Our primary goal is to equip educators, scholars and other professionals and community members with the necessary skills and confidence to become models of peace in their behavior and interaction with students in K-12 schools,” Duhon-Sells said.  

“There is a critical need to provide peace education as content knowledge as a means for enabling students to make better choices when faced with conflicts and to encourage them to think responsibly when dealing with adverse situations.”

Keynote speakers included the Honorable Johnny Anderson, chairman of the Southern University System Board of Supervisors and the governor’s assistant chief of staff; Linda Johnson, 8th District representative/president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE); and Abul Pitre, who holds an endowed chair at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and has written more than 30 books on multicultural education and social issues.

In addition to a variety of plenary sessions and presentations, educators presented scholarly papers related to this year’s theme, “Tapestry of Excellence: Revitalizing Our Community.”

The SUNO Addison C. Carey Political Science Club and the Criminal Justice Student Association hosted a Spring 2007 Voter Registration Cookout in April. Current and prospective voters from metro New Orleans attended this free event.