Several letters and messages on nonviolence, written by legislators and educators were sent to Dr. Donald L. Ungarelli, Dean of University Libraries,  B.Davis Schwartz Memorial Library. Here are excerpts from some of them:

Letter by: Dr. David J. Steinberg, President, Long Island University

Universities are outposts of civilization, institutions that prize culture and celebrate human creativity. There is much in the modern world that is brutish, and whenever a university stands, it is dedicated to enlightened education,  civility, and respect for the free exchange of ideas.  Suffusing the entire enterprise is a belief in pluralism and the exploration of truth to its inner most parts.

It is with pleasure, therefore, that I endorse wholeheartedly this exhibition on non-violence. Every time a parent strikes a child, a husband beats a wife, a gang assaults a passer-by, a policeman uses his nightstick, a nation attacks another, poison seeps into humanity. The amount of that poison can vary from a scarred,  withdrawn child to genocide, but the volume of poison unleashed does not dilute its destructive strength.

In an effort to celebrate non-violence, Long Island University must be part of a global effort to extend the highest values of civilization. I salute those who have worked to prepare this exhibit and endorse its mission wholeheartedly.

David Steinberg ,                                                                                                 President, Long Island University                                                                                                                       

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