Peace flag ceremony: 100th anniversary of ‘peace through law’
The Peace Flag flies over Warriner Hall in this April 22, 2021, photo. The annual flag raising -- presented this year by the Department of Philosophy, Anthropology and Religion and Central Sustainability, among others -- will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday as a way to honor the university's fourth president, E.C Warriner.
In honor of Earth Week at Central Michigan University, Central Sustainability is co-hosting this year’s Peace Flag ceremony with Professor Hope May, a faculty member in the Philosophy, Anthropology and Religion Department and founder of the Cora di Brazzà Foundation.
The ceremony, which is sponsored by the department with the help of the foundation, will take place from 1-2 p.m. Friday, April 21, in front of Warriner Hall.
This year’s ceremony is the 100th anniversary of Eugene Clarence Warriner’s, or E.C. Warriner’s, 1923 commencement speech, “The Outlook for Peace.” Warriner served as the fourth president of CMU, previously referred to as Central State Normal School.
In his speech, copies of which can be found in the Clarke Historical Library on campus, Warriner discussed his pro-peace and anti-war beliefs. According to ProConcordiaLabor.com, before he was CMU president, Warriner was superintendent of Saginaw Public Schools, where he formed the Michigan branch of the American School Peace League.
The website said the ASPL was created to educate students about the concept of “peace through law,” which Warriner argued for in his 1923 speech. May’s Cora di Brazzà Foundation is an educational organzation that seeks to spread awareness about the Peace Through Law Movement, according to it’s website.
May said tribute will be made to Warriner on Friday by incorporating elements of his speech into the ceremony’s program.
Another notable figure that will be paid homage to at this year’s ceremony is Benjamin Ferencz, a Nuremberg Prosecutor. May said Ferencz, who passed in April at 103 years old, fought for peace by arguing to make war a crime.
“I hope that students learn about the world that they are inheriting, about the work that has been done by people, the work that still needs to be done by people,” May said. “Connecting where we are today with the past, with history, and with ideas and values that take a long time to bring to life, that need to be brought to life again and again.”
Editor's note: This story was updated to reflect Professor May's department and its sponsorship of and involvement in the ceremony.
