[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/gandhi1 edited.gif” caption=”Mahatma Gandhi”]Things may seem a little more peaceable at McMaster this week, thanks to the efforts of two dynamic Humanities undergrads.

Supported by the Centre for Peace Studies, Level IV peace studies students Andrea Valois and Natalie Lazier have taken the lead in coordinating the fifth annual Mac Peace Week.

The event is an opportunity for various social justice groups on campus to come together and promote non-violence, peace and justice within the university and surrounding community.

Running from Sept. 24 to Sept. 30, events will include guest speakers, film nights, coffeehouses and open forums.

Mac Peace Week will conclude with the largest event, the 14th annual Mahatma Gandhi Peace Festival and Peace Walk.

Valois and Lazier are passionate about this event and its potential to educate, which is why they elected to get involved as part of an Applied Humanities course (HUMAN 4W03).

The course allows students to step outside of the traditional classroom setting and try a hands-on approach to learning. Valois and Lazier are incorporating Mac Peace Week into their research by using it as a case study for a final project on Peace Education.

According to Valois, “Mac Peace Week and the Applied Humanities course epitomize the Peace Studies program: professors, students, and members of the community, all working together to achieve a common goal.”

Both Valois and Lazier hope that students will be inspired by the project and see how they can apply theories and concepts learned in the classroom to real-life ventures.