Photo by Jillian Distler

Because of its origins with the Brethren Church, one of the Historic Peace Churches, Elizabethtown College has long promoted and upheld traditions of peacemaking and nonviolence.

The influence of Etown’s Brethren heritage lives on today in various forms, from academic programs to faculty research to lectures.

In such examples, Etown attempts to promote Brethren values of peacemaking, nonviolence and pacifism.

However, the historic and present incidents of bias on campus that have occurred, and continue to occur, demonstrate that there is still work to be done to truly honor a commitment to peacemaking.

Music Therapy Peace Day Recognition, which occurred Monday, Sept. 17, was one example of Etown’s respect for and remembrance of its peaceful heritage.

However, while the College still honors these traditions in many ways, there are areas where the Etown community may not live up to its Brethren roots.

The Church of the Brethren is one of three historic peace churches, along with the Mennonites and the Quakers. Brethren and Mennonites are further categorized as Anabaptist, a movement that originated during the Protestant Reformation.

Though Anabaptists originally separated from Protestant sects over baptism—while Protestants emphasized the importance of infant baptism, Anabaptists believed in adult baptism only—Anabaptism has come to focus on peace. In that tradition, the Church of the Brethren has long promoted teachings of Jesus that express a love for enemies and a lack of retaliation in the face of violence.

Historically, Brethren and other Anabaptists have been notable as conscientious objectors, refusing to participate in war. It is these principles of pacifism and nonviolence on which the College was founded.

Peacemaker-in-Residence Jonathan Rudy, a member of the Mennonite tradition, is one of many faculty members committed to upholding Etown’s heritage of peace.

In his scholarship and his message alike, Rudy attempts to pass on teachings of peacemaking and nonviolence to Etown’s students.

“I bring a total commitment to nonviolence,” he said. “We observe the violence out there, but we also understand the violence going on inside of us.”

Rudy emphasized the importance of examining the violence we have internalized and the power we hold.

Professor of religion Carl W. Zeigler and Religious Studies Department Chair Dr. Christina Bucher had a similar mission.

“I have always included elements of peacemaking in the various courses I teach, and I have a course on the concept of peace in the Bible,” she said.

For many professors, Etown’s current commitment to peace is apparent, especially when compared to actions of the past.

Distinguished college professor, senior fellow and professor of sociology emeritus Dr. Donald Kraybill, who was raised Mennonite and is now a member of the Church of the Brethren, began teaching at Etown in 1971.

Throughout the 1970s, Kraybill witnessed protests on campus relating to the Vietnam War. In comparing the status of Etown now to the turmoil of the 70s, Kraybill believes that “in the past 15 years, the College has promoted peacemaking more than before.”

Kraybill cites the College’s response to the beginning of the Iraq War—a day of peacemaking lectures speaking out against the violence in lieu of normal classes—as a prime example of Etown’s recent nonviolence.

Kraybill also commends the development of academic programs in peacemaking, commenting that “the College [promotes] peacemaking and peace-building more with programs and courses…much more than in the 80s and 90s.”

Rudy and Bucher concur, both calling attention to the Peace and Conflict Studies minor (which Bucher helped to develop), the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking and the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies as examples of the College’s institutions of peace.

However, Bucher “would like to see peacemaking become more embedded into the life of the College.”

One peace and conflict studies student, sophomore Matthew Smith, said he believes that “[Etown] is one of the best places that you can study peacemaking.”

He sees Etown honoring its heritage through the Peacemaker-in-Residence position, the Ware Lecture on Peacemaking and the maintenance of the Young Center.

“We’re a pretty peaceful campus,” Smith concluded.

Though Etown expresses its peacemaking nature in many ways, there are still places where work must be done.

Kraybill emphasizes that “peacemaking” is not always an adequate term to describe such work.

“You can’t make peace as long as some groups…are oppressed by other groups,” he said.

Kraybill used the term “peace-building” in reference to fraught situations, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which require the establishment of “conditions that will lead to peace.”

While Etown honors its peaceful roots in many ways, the persistence of bias-related incidents on campus represents a side of the Etown community incompatible with the College’s heritage.

In reference to the email sent from the Office of the President Sept. 12, an incident of homophobia was reported to Campus Security on the same date.

“The acts of discrimination that have taken place have removed my sense of security on campus, basically destroying the only safe space I have,” the affected student said.

The Etownian is witholding the student’s name for reasons related to their safety. The incident is still under investigation.

Additionally, vandalism was discovered in the bathrooms of Stonewall Hall, the LGBTQ+ housing located in Founders, Sept. 15.

Stonewall resident and sophomore Carly Sherba reported that the residents had to clean up clogged toilets and trash in the showers themselves, as “facilities wasn’t scheduled to come in until Monday. While I think it’s great that [Etown] is at least talking about peace, action would go a lot farther in making students on campus feel safe,” Sherba said.

Though Etown continues to uphold values of nonviolence in some aspects, it is clear that the protections of peace do not, at present, extend to all members of the Etown community.

Rudy hopes that we can “learn from bias incidents” such as these and promote nonviolent responses to them to declare, “‘That’s not who we are.’”

Bucher supports a similar standpoint. She introduced the idea that conflict, such as the continuing existence of oppression, is unavoidable, but our role is to “try to transform it into something positive in a way that does not injure anyone.”