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Letter from the Editor
TIM NATION, GUEST EDITOR

We are pleased to present you with this issue of ENGAGE! focused on 
peace in the midst of turmoil. We begin by asking: What is peace and how 
do we increase it?

For me, peace is the ability to stay calm and focused amid conflict, to work 
for collaboration between people creating win-win situations instead of 
competition that creates winners and losers. Peace is to build community 
where everyone feels safe, valued, and loved. Peace requires work and does 
not magically appear.

Throughout our lives, we must realize a lack of peace hurts us all. The 
United States of America’s terrible homicide epidemic takes around 20,000 
lives each year while even more tragically, 48,000 end their own lives 
annually, demonstrating conflict within ourselves is even a larger problem 
than conflict with others.

Peacemaking involves working for peace through peaceful means. This 
includes forming stable legitimate governments, equitable practices for 
all, a transparent free flow of information, acceptance and appreciation of 
others, social and emotional skills, and social justice.

To help people build peace in our community and world, this issue of  
ENGAGE! focuses on three main educational components of peacemaking: 
Equity, Social Emotional Learning, and Restorative Practices.

Equity education includes antiracism, implicit bias, and equity liter-
acy.  Achievement gaps between students are actually opportunity gaps. 
Problems that persist in low income communities are not because of indi-
vidual deficits, rather they are the result of injustice. Racism is the worst 
problem facing our culture and all of us must learn and confront our own 
biases, a root cause of current tragedies.

Equity education is important to learning why we need change in our 
current educational systems.  Too many students do not connect with the 
curriculum as presented and too often achievement scores are directly 
linked to family income and privilege. When people of color are two to even 
six times more likely to be suspended, expelled, have their children taken 
away by child protective services, imprisoned, and denied health care, we 
recognize our systems fail them and need to be fundamentally changed.

“Enacting Truth and Reconciliation Through Community-University 
Partnerships: A Grassroots Approach” in this edition of ENGAGE! explores 
the use of a grassroots model for engaging truth and reconciliation (T&R) 
for racial terror lynching. It examines two lynchings that occurred in 
Oxford, OH, demonstrating a model for racial reconciliation. 

ACKNOWLEGMENTS

Editors 
dr. silvia garcia

dr. khaula murtadha

Associate Editors 
dr. tyan parker 
domingues

dr. carolyn gentle-
genitty

dr. terri jett

dr. brendan maxcy

dr. breanca merritt

dr. thu suong nguyen

dr. javiette samuel

dr. sarah stanlick

ENGAGE! 4 VOL. 1, ISSUE 3



Online Journal 
Development 
ann nicole goeller

ted polley 

Office of  
Community  
Engagement

Doctoral  
Student  
Assistants
richard bray

winterbourne harrison-
jones

nicole oglesby

Restorative Practices offer a more equitable way to change our systems of 
discipline, criminal justice, and even trauma. Restorative Practices, the 
model, is based on the concept that when someone harms another or expe-
riences trauma, existing relationships are damaged and these relationships 
need to be “restored.” If a student gets in a fight, instead of giving them a 
three-day Xbox vacation called a “suspension,” the student needs to be part 
of a formal conference that brings together a Restorative Practices leader, 
school staff, parents, and other youth involved. The person doing the harm 
needs to hear from others how the relationships were damaged and how 
the harm can be addressed. An action plan is created that holds the person 
accountable and lets them stay engaged in school.

The article “Using circles to Cope with the Eruption of Volcan de Fuego en 
Guatemala,” presents an innovative way to use restorative circles to help 
victims of natural disasters process and address trauma caused by the 
tragedy. It also presents insightful research outlining how verbalizing and 
listening with others brings light to dark situations helping to start the 
healing process.

Social Emotional Learning is the third component that builds peace. This 
include self-awareness, self-regulation, the ability to maintain positive rela-
tionships, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills. We must all learn 
ways to deal with our emotions and work for peace in our lives.

“Creating a Complete Learning Community: A New Chapter for the Peace 
Learning Center and the Tribes Learning Community” presents a series of 
informative and inspirational stories that demonstrate how civically 
engaged, democratic classrooms empower students to take control of their 
learning by building peace with their classmates and succeeding in per-
sonal and academic development.

We hope you gain a deeper appreciation and base of knowledge about 
peace through this issue of ENGAGE! from people who have devoted their 
lives to making our world a better place. Know that it only takes one person 
to begin the peacemaking process.  You do not have to wait for a 
peacemaker. Become a peacemaker, creating a better world for everyone.

ACKNOWLEGMENTS

Letter from the Editor

ENGAGE! 5 VOL. 1, ISSUE 3




