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Human face of the Dalai Lama
Campaign aims to educate students about His Holiness
By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Staff Writer
To encourage students to pick up their free tickets to the Sept. 19 Distinguished Speakers Series lecture by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama—as well as take part in the other events related to his visit—the Office of Student Affairs is in the midst of a special campaign to educate and excite students about the Dalai Lama.
The campaign, "The Human Face of Peace: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's Call to UB Students" aims to humanize the Dalai Lama and teach students about his significance as a world figure.
"Informing students about the realities of the Dalai Lama is this campaign's goal," said Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs. "He is coming to UB specifically to speak to our students. He believes students hold a peaceful future in their hands.
"Students I know who have heard him speak say they remember him for the simplicity of this message and his sense of humor," Black added. "He is unexpectedly humble for a leader of millions."
The campaign also attempts to clear up several misperceptions about the Dalai Lama. There are concerns among UB administrators that some students do not realize his powerful political role or may mistake him as someone who wants to convert them to Buddhism.
"The Dalai Lama is more than a religious leader," said Stephen Dunnett, vice provost for international education. "He is the political and spiritual leader of a culture in jeopardy, whose fearless devotion to nonviolence earned him a Nobel Peace Prize. His visit is the equivalent of hosting Martin Luther King Jr., Bishop Desmond Tutu or Aung San Suu Kyi—leaders who have devoted their lives to the welfare of others."
He said students should be better equipped to make decisions after learning more about the Dalai Lama, his history and his philosophy.
"Hearing him speak makes all the difference," Dunnett added.
A cornerstone of the outreach campaign is a special Web site for students (http://www.buffalo.edu/dalai_lama/students) that includes a quick schedule of events and streaming audio and video interviews with UB students and faculty who have personal experiences with the Dalai Lama, as well as links to further information online.
Podcasts on the Web site show how the political struggles of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan people hit home. One features UB doctoral student Kunchok Yourdon, a practicing Tibetan Buddhist whose parents were among the millions who followed the Dalai Lama from Tibet into exile in India in the late-1950s.
The campaign also involves flyers, pamphlets, bus and shuttle ads, and a mass email to all students.
Other events designed to spark students' interest in the Dalai Lama include a free film screening and the creation of peace flags to welcome His Holiness. UB alumnus John Bush will screen his film "Vajra Sky Over Tibet" at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15 in the Student Union Theater. The final two peace flag-making sessions are to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday and Sept. 13 in the Student Union Lobby.
There are 13,000 free tickets to the Dalai Lama's lecture that have been reserved for UB students. Ticket distribution will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Pick up dates and locations are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday in Alumni Arena, North Campus; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday in Alumni Arena; 5-8 p.m. Wednesday in the food court in the Ellicott Complex, North Campus; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Sept. 7 in Harriman Hall, South Campus; 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 9 in Alumni Arena; 1-4 p.m. Sept. 9 in Harriman Hall; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 11 in Alumni Arena. Tickets are limited to one per student; ID is required. The first 4,000 students to pick up their ticket will receive a limited-edition commemorative poster of the Dalai Lama. UB 101 students will receive their tickets from their instructors.
Students with valid UB parking hangtags may park on the North Campus for the lecture. South Campus students are encouraged to take a shuttle bus to the North Campus. Extra shuttle buses will be in operation. For more information on parking and transportation for the Dalai Lama's lecture, see story in this issue of the online Reporter.
The lecture will begin at 3 p.m. in UB Stadium, with pre-lecture performances starting at 1 p.m. Students are advised to arrive on campus several hours before the lecture.
In addition, at least 3,000 tickets have been reserved for UB faculty, staff and students for the Interfaith Service with the Dalai Lama, to be held at 4 p.m. Sept. 18 in Alumni Arena. Tickets are $15 each and require a voucher entitling the bearer to purchase up to four tickets at the Alumni Arena box office, beginning tomorrow. Purchasers must present a valid UB ID.
Ticket vouchers for the Interfaith Service may be obtained at the Campus Ministries Association office, 227 Student Union, North Campus, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and tomorrow.