Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias Sanchez, former president of Costa Rica and a spokesperson for Third World countries, will give the keynote address. Arias drafted the Procedure to Establish a Firm and Lasting Peace in Central America, a peace plan that culminated in the alliance of all Central American presidents in 1987. Arias invested his Nobel Prize money in the establishment of the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. Now an internationally renowned speaker, Arias advocates human development, democracy, and demilitarization and applies his knowledge of these issues to current worldwide conflict. At Gustavus, Arias will receive an honorary doctorate.
The conference is open to the public and the schedule is as follows:
--10 p.m. March 14 kick-off dance in the Dive (located in O.J. Johnson Student Union).
--8-9 a.m. March 15 registration in O.J. Johnson Student Union.
--9-9:45 a.m. March 15 "I am . . .We are" theatre company presentation in Alumni Hall (located in O.J. Johnson Student Union).
--10-11 a.m. March 15 "Workshop Session #1" in various campus locations.
--11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. March 15 "Workshop Session #2" in various campus locations.
--12:30-1:30 p.m. March 15 lunch break (on your own).
--1:45-2:15 p.m. March 15 Honorary Degree ceremony for Nobel Peace Laureate Oscar Arias Sanchez in Alumni Hall.
--2:15-3:45 p.m. March 15 keynote address by Oscar Arias Sanchez in Alumni Hall.
--3:45-4:30 p.m. March 15 reception for Oscar Arias Sanchez in Linner Lounge (located in O.J. Johnson Student Union).
--4:30-5:45 p.m. March 15 banquet in the Banquet Room in the C. Charles Jackson Campus Center.
--6-7 p.m. March 15 dedication of a bronze bust of the late Senator Paul Wellstone in Alumni Hall.
--8-10 p.m. benefit concert March 15 in Lund Center for the non-profit CADA House and the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Building. The concert features the Big Wu and Shannon McNally.
Building Bridges is open to the public, but registration is required. To attend the banquet and receive a conference T-shirt, the cost is $30 per person for the general public, $20 per person for non-Gustavus college students, $10 per person for banquet only reservations, and $10 for the benefit concert. Reservations may be made by contacting Gustavus student and conference chair Jenny Yang: (507) 933-7083, jyang@gustavus.edu, or 800 West College Ave., St. Peter, MN 56082-1498. Checks should be payable to Gustavus Adolphus College. The registration deadline is Wednesday, March 12.
The annual Building Bridges conference is a student-led, student-initiated diversity conference organized to promote mutual respect and understanding of diversity and to deal with diversity in a proactive, social, and informative way. For more information call the Diversity Center at (507) 933-7449 or visit this year's Building Bridges Web site.
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minn., that prepares 2,500 undergraduates for lives of leadership, service, and lifelong learning. The oldest Lutheran college in Minnesota, Gustavus was founded in 1862 by Swedish immigrants and named for Swedish King Gustav II Adolf. At Gustavus, students receive personal attention in small-sized classes and engage in collaborative research with their professors. Fully accredited and known for its strong science, writing, music, athletics, study-abroad, and service-learning programs, Gustavus hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and is internationally recognized for its annual Nobel Conference.
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