Giving Peace a Chance
O
n September 21, Pace celebrated the International
Day of Peace by announcing the launch of a Peace and
Justice Studies minor on its New York City Campus,
complementing the Peace and Justice Program that has been on
the Westchester Campus since 2007. Students in the programs
go on to professional careers in the growing areas of nonprofit
organizations, humanitarian and international aid work,
mediation, negotiation, diplomacy, economic development,
and poverty reduction. The program on the New York City
Campus is directed by political scientist Emily Welty, PhD, who
has worked in a variety of cross-cultural and politically unstable
contexts including Uganda, Kenya, Northern Ireland, Israel/
Palestine, Cuba, Haiti, South Africa, and Sudan.
Put a Cork in It
W
hat is the connection between that bottle of
wine on your restaurant table and the fate of
forests and wildlife across Southern Europe and
parts of North Africa, and the livelihoods of 100,000 people?
The cork.
In Battle Behind the Bottle: A Documentary on the Cork
Question, a team of Pace student filmmakers explored the
unseen issues within the cork industry in Portugal. Under
the guidance of Communications Professor Maria Luskay,
EdD, students wrote, filmed, and produced the entire project,
traveling to Porto, Coruche, and Lisbon to research and film
with New York Times "Dot Earth" blogger Andrew Revkin.
Over the last two years, students in Luskay's award-winning
Media and Communication Arts class have traveled to the
Netherlands to shoot a documentary on the U.S. Ambassador
to Holland and to Belize where they chronicled the world
of sustainable shrimp farming. The Life of an American
Ambassador: The Netherlands won Best in Category
for "Documentary" at the 4th Annual Indie Short Film
Competition and Linda Thornton: Seeking Sustainability One
Shrimp at a Time was awarded Best Short Documentary in
the Best Shorts Film Festival. Students have also filmed in
Nassau, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Tuscany.
"Each documentary project presents unique challenges,"
says Luskay, speaking of past film projects. "This gives the
students real-world experience in documentary film-making
that will serve them well in their careers."
Year in Review 2011-2012 | 11