The first milestone of GCE for me was about non-violent activists and the term Sarvodaya. The best way to write of each of these is to write a freedom song, a wonderful collection of words to form a picture of non-violent activists and how they used sarvodaya in their lives as well as how I used it in mine. I approached this assignment by researching the activist that I chose. I chose Jane Addams because she is an important character in Chicago’s history and will always be remembered for her non-violent fight against discrimination against women doing what they believe in. I did not have to look very far for information on her because she had done so many great things over time in our great city, which includes her famous “Hull House”. I also wrote about a time in my life I demonstrated sarvodaya. I wrote about a time when juniors were discriminated against on my high school lacrosse team and we protested in order to right the wrongs that the athletic director had committed. In my poems of Jane Addams and my fight, I wrote of the ways that we were both discriminated against and how we rose up using the principle of sarvodaya to open the eyes of the people that opposed our missions of peace and equality.
Jane Addams
I open my eyes
To find that I changed the world
With an education and passion it was no surprise
I learned to help the world
With a female touch to the poor
They were so happy they danced and twirled.
Being a female made this hard
We needed to be heard
But we were studied and tossed like a flash card
With the help I can give to the poor
You will be begging for more.
I rose out of separation
I defied my rank and placement
To find that I created diversification
I helped the unfortunate and needy
Through the teachings of not being greedy.
Geoff Dohrmann
I am a boy 18 years of age
I am unaware of the ways of rage
Playing sports and doing arts are hobbies of mine
When doing these things I’m feeling fine
I experienced segregation against my grade
Juniors could not play lacrosse even if they paid
I sat out with teammates in protest
We wanted our friends is what we tried to suggest
The athletic director thought that we jest
I hope you understand the rest!
With our rising against the school
Sarvodaya proved that our idea was cool
They realized they had been unfair
I experienced Sarvodaya unaware.