In a world gone mad, Douglas Daugherty said, the University needs a “A Day of Sanity.”
Daugherty, the event organizer, said violent outbreaks have produced a need for community dialogue. He said what happened Monday at a debate in Kentucky is an all-too familiar reminder. There, a Rand Paul volunteer stepped on a liberal activist’s head after she was tackled.
“Sitting on the sideline is a complicit act in socially reproducing the status quo,” Daugherty said. “We must remember there is no such thing as a ‘real world’ out there. The real world is a social construction, and only through the social deconstruction of that world can we begin the long and arduous task of producing a better world for our children and grandchildren and future generations of humanity.”
The rally takes place Friday and will focus on local community issues. Between an issue table and mic sessions, students will speak out against injustices.
Among others, El Centro de la Raza and the ANSWER Coalition plans to set up booths aimed at stopping war and ending racism.
The rally will produce peaceful methods to solve social injustices, said Tony Padilla, organizer for the ANSWER Coalition.
“We need to open a dialogue from people from different perspectives and try to understand one another about prominent social justice issues,” he said.
Student Nate Peavler said the event allows students to form and share opinions, but it also stimulates learning.
“It puts our educational perspectives on the spot,” he said. “We are learning how to create a formulated opinion here at UNM. This rally is a way to test if we are learning or just going through the motion.”
