By Matt Thacker
Weaponry museums and peace organizations don’t often strive toward the same goals, but each were able to state their cause in front of members of the newly formed Humanities Undergraduate and Graduate Organization.
A group of students started HUGO several years ago, but after their graduation the group faded. Current professors and students hope to revive the program through monthly meetings and community events. They hope to become a registered student organization and gain support from the administration by promoting local organizations which help in the humanities area.
K.A. Owens organized Friday’s meeting, the first since the organization’s revival. They attempted to showcase two local groups, the Frazier Historical Arms Museum and the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peacemaking and Resolution.
“We have chosen these two as they are relatively new in the community and they seem ironically opposite in name: Peace and War,” said Elaine Wise, professor of English and Humanities.
Al Herring represented the Ali Institute. Herring is a U of L graduate and previously served as vice president for Campus Life. He now works as executive director for the Ali Institute.
He seeks to gain support for the institute, which in the past has flown under the radar, by helping out local projects that haven’t received much attention.
Herring said they hope to help promote peace nationally and possibly even internationally.
One project he hopes to work on in the near future is aiding the diverse population on the west end of Louisville in developing better relations with each other and police.
They also plan to create the Ali Scholar Program, which will use college students to help solve issues of conflict, and the Ali Peacemaking Team, which will send trained individuals to violent regions of the world to help restore peace.
An open house for the institute will be held the first week of March, with a possible appearance by Muhammad Ali.
B.J. Davis of the Frazier Museum spoke following Herring’s speech. Davis said the museum is more a history of people than a museum of guns. He said while the Frazier Museum does not seem to promote peace as overtly as the Ali Institute, it does its part to prevent conflict.
“One of the things we try to do is … to put in perspective how some objects are used,” said Davis. “It gives a vivid idea how terrible and destructive those forces can be.”
The collection of arms, started by Owsley Brown Frazier, has grown to be one of the largest of its kind and is worth over $23 million.
The museum features movies, theatrical reenactments of historical events, and well-known public speakers.
The members of HUGO will be visiting Frazier to see one such speaker, Dr. Blake Beattie, on March 17. Beattie teaches at U of L and specializes in the history of the medieval church.
This is one of the ways HUGO hopes to promote local organizations and events. The theme of the night for HUGO was, “How can Humanities graduates interact with local institutions?” and after the meeting they began developing a plan for the future.
“Our primary goal is for U of L Humanities students to interact with the community in a positive way,” said Owens.
HUGO’s monthly meetings will include public speakers from local institutions such as the Crane House.
Students wanting information about joining HUGO can contact the Humanities office.
