{"id":31953,"date":"2025-09-23T20:08:29","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T00:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/?p=31953"},"modified":"2025-09-23T20:08:29","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T00:08:29","slug":"messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Messages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREENEVILLE<\/strong> \u2013 As children from Doak Elementary School sang and international students from Tusculum University<\/a> spoke in their native languages, peace permeated the Scott M. Niswonger Commons during a ceremony unveiling a pole on campus promoting that principle.<\/h3>\n
\"Tusculum

Tusculum international student Ylva Landa, who is from Norway, reads the message \u201cMay Peace Prevail on Earth\u201d in her native language.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Rotary

Rotary Club member Tony LaMarca speaks during the ceremony.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Brandon

Brandon Farmer, left, and Lucia Fillers, the president and past president of the Rotary Club of Greeneville, unveil the peace pole.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Rotary Club of Greeneville<\/a> organized the placement of a peace pole at the commons, which the current club president, Brandon Farmer, and past president, Lucia Fillers, uncovered during the event Tuesday, Sept. 23. The pole, a project of Rotary International, contains the message \u201cMay Peace Prevail on Earth\u201d in eight languages \u2013 English, Spanish, Mandarin, Swahili, Bengali, Ukrainian, Arabic and Hebrew.<\/p>\n

\u201cA peace pole is an internationally recognized symbol of hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing in vigil and silent prayer for peace on earth,\u201d said club member Tony LaMarca, who led the initiative to install one at Tusculum. \u201cThe poles are intended to inspire unity among people of all backgrounds and cultures and to serve as a silent prayer for peace. Rotary peace poles are part of Rotary\u2019s focus on peace-building and conflict resolution. Peace starts with each of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In harmony with LaMarca\u2019s remarks, Doak Elementary students delivered a stirring rendition of \u201cLet There Be Peace on Earth,\u201d infused with many different languages, at the end of the ceremony. Many Tusculum international students as well as club members and Dr. Faisal Al-khateeb, professor of computer science<\/a>, spoke \u201cMay Peace Prevail on Earth\u201d in their native language. Tusculum has about 140 international students from 38 countries.<\/p>\n

\"Tusculum

Tusculum University international students stand by the peace pole.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Rotary

Rotary Club members stand by the peace pole.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Doak

Doak Elementary School students sing \u201cLet There Be Peace on Earth.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cPeace is the best way to lead,\u201d LaMarca said. \u201cCaring is the foundation of peace \u2013 taking care of family members, your neighbor next door, your community and people in your neighboring country and throughout the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum\u2019s president and a member of the local Rotary Club, highlighted how he was a Rotary ambassadorial scholar after completing his undergraduate studies that enabled him to receive a full scholarship to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He said the experience enriched his life. Today, Tusculum alumnus Eirik Dahlgren is following in Dr. Hummel\u2019s footsteps as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar at the University of Stirling in Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience with Rotary and at the Hebrew University very much broadened my worldview and very much demonstrated for me the need for peace in community with all peoples,\u201d Dr. Hummel said. \u201cIt also gave me a great appreciation for my Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Hummel said Rotary performs many acts that promote peace and prosperity and make the world better. In honor of the peace pole being placed at Tusculum, 10 trees have been planted in Africa in the university\u2019s name. Dr. Hummel said he was proud of that achievement and recognition.<\/p>\n

\"Alan

Alan Corley, mayor of the City of Tusculum and a member of the university\u2019s Board of Trustees, welcome the audience.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"State

State Rep. David Hawk shares his thoughts during the event.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Dr.

Dr. Scott Hummel addresses the audience.<\/p><\/div>\n

As Tusculum\u2019s president, Dr. Hummel said he is also grateful the university has so many students from other countries as well as from 35 states in the United States. He noted that many flags from other countries that represent the homelands of current students and alumni hang inside the Niswonger Commons. He also highlighted that two former international students became U.S. citizens last week in a naturalization ceremony on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are incredibly proud of our international students and what they bring to the university and to the community,\u201d Dr. Hummel said. \u201cThere is no other organization in Greene County that brings more of an array of international individuals than Tusculum University. That enriches our university, our community and our country. We are excited about what they will become after they graduate from Tusculum University.\u201d<\/p>\n

State Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville, emphasized the importance of peace through conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I want to challenge you to do today is to seek out someone you don\u2019t know and just say hello,\u201d Hawk said. \u201cWhen I walked in today, I shook hands with a dozen different people that I\u2019d never met before. But I said, \u2018Hello, my name is David. How are you?\u2019 And we had that brief conversation. Take it one step further and get to know something about that person. It\u2019s much easier to like someone if you actually know someone. In that vein, it\u2019s harder to hate someone if you actually like them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Corley, mayor of the City of Tusculum and a member of the university\u2019s Board of Trustees, welcomed everyone to the ceremony. He encouraged everyone to return to the university frequently.<\/p>\n

Further details about Rotary peace poles are available at https:\/\/rotarypeacepoles.world\/<\/a>. Additional information about the local club is available at\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GreeneRotary<\/a>. To learn more about the university, please visit\u00a0www.tusculum.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GREENEVILLE<\/strong> \u2013 As children from Doak Elementary School sang and international students from Tusculum University<\/a> spoke in their native languages, peace permeated the Scott M. Niswonger Commons during a ceremony unveiling a pole on campus promoting that principle.<\/h3>\n

The Rotary Club of Greeneville<\/a> organized the placement of a peace pole at the commons, which the current club president, Brandon Farmer, and past president, Lucia Fillers, uncovered during the event Tuesday, Sept. 23. The pole, a project of Rotary International, contains the message \u201cMay Peace Prevail on Earth\u201d in eight languages \u2013 English, Spanish, Mandarin, Swahili, Bengali, Ukrainian, Arabic and Hebrew.<\/p>\n

\u201cA peace pole is an internationally recognized symbol of hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing in vigil and silent prayer for peace on earth,\u201d said club member Tony LaMarca, who led the initiative to install one at Tusculum. \u201cThe poles are intended to inspire unity among people of all backgrounds and cultures and to serve as a silent prayer for peace. Rotary peace poles are part of Rotary\u2019s focus on peace-building and conflict resolution. Peace starts with each of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[131,91,7,19,142,169,146,1,6,148,147,149,172],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMessages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus :: Tusculum University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Messages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus :: Tusculum University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GREENEVILLE \u2013 As children from Doak Elementary School sang and international students from Tusculum University spoke in their native languages, peace permeated the Scott M. Niswonger Commons during a ceremony unveiling a pole on campus promoting that principle. The Rotary Club of Greeneville organized the placement of a peace pole at the commons, which the current club president, Brandon Farmer, and past president, Lucia Fillers, uncovered during the event Tuesday, Sept. 23. The pole, a project of Rotary International, contains the message \u201cMay Peace Prevail on Earth\u201d in eight languages \u2013 English, Spanish, Mandarin, Swahili, Bengali, Ukrainian, Arabic and Hebrew. \u201cA peace pole is an internationally recognized symbol of hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing in vigil and silent prayer for peace on earth,\u201d said club member Tony LaMarca, who led the initiative to install one at Tusculum. \u201cThe poles are intended to inspire unity among people of all backgrounds and cultures and to serve as a silent prayer for peace. Rotary peace poles are part of Rotary\u2019s focus on peace-building and conflict resolution. Peace starts with each of us.\u201d Read the full article...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-24T00:08:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/peace-pole-6-290x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Wozniak\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Wozniak\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/\",\"name\":\"Messages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus :: Tusculum University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-24T00:08:29+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-09-24T00:08:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21b61c94e78ce303ab780be8b1e62dd7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News and Information\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Messages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/\",\"name\":\"TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY NEWS\",\"description\":\"News for Alumni, Parents and Friends\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/21b61c94e78ce303ab780be8b1e62dd7\",\"name\":\"Jim Wozniak\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d61ad3ea2d16960d99f5aea77c2329e?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d61ad3ea2d16960d99f5aea77c2329e?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Wozniak\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/author\/jwozniaktusculum-edu\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Messages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus :: Tusculum University","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2025\/messages-of-peace-reverberate-around-tusculum-university-as-rotary-international-peace-pole-is-dedicated-on-campus\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Messages of peace reverberate around Tusculum University as Rotary International Peace Pole is dedicated on campus :: Tusculum University","og_description":"GREENEVILLE \u2013 As children from Doak Elementary School sang and international students from Tusculum University spoke in their native languages, peace permeated the Scott M. 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