Leadership
Stories
Rachel Klastorin
A pioneer of public-will-building among college students,
Rachel Klastorin founded the first university chapter of Students
Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE). Klastorin has developed unique
methods of changing the attitudes and behaviors of young people.
She envisions a system in which public will is influenced progressively:
college students teach the principles of nonviolence to high school
students, who then reach out to elementary students. As the chain
of contact moves downward in age, it also expands outward, so
that young people influence their peers in the wider community.
While at the University of Michigan, Klastorin discovered a unique
method of mobilizing young people: she created a college course
which promotes a message of nonviolent problem solving. The class
is offered through the U of M undergraduate program for one credit.
In their efforts to educate and influence young people, the university
SAVE students teach lessons of nonviolence to over 100 youth at
numerous locations in the Detroit and Ann Arbor area. The group
has also focused its efforts on campus. For example, SAVE students
offer a "Week of Peace" to their fellow U of M students.
The week incorporates adult guest speakers and offers message-based
activities and performances. Since her graduation, Klastorin has
continued to develop new ways of creating positive change, seeking
to transform her message into public policy. She is currently
working at the United States Senate, gaining valuable experience
with the political process. Klastorin plans to pursue a career
in law so that she may eventually introduce legislation in support
of her message.
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