Peace Vigil at Pepperdine

Each morning as I drive to work at Pepperdine University, I glance up at its “theme tower,” a 75-foot concrete cross that overlooks Malibu, and wonder how the peace vigil is doing. This vigil was started six weeks ago by a group of Pepperdine students who are trying to improve Soviet-American relations. This group sent a letter to Mikhail Gorbachev asking for Soviet-American student exchanges, a student summit, and other citizen diplomacy. They plan to maintain a vigil at the foot of the cross till they get a response.

This particular morning was so beautiful that I decided to check things out for myself. I wasn’t disappointed. The theme tower has one of the best views in Malibu. Looking down, I could see Santa Monica Bay glittering like a sea of diamonds. A hawk was riding the thermals.

At the food of the cross, a student was asleep in a tent. A candle was burning. I sat down on a beach chair and looked out over the bay. It was as if the Prince of Peace had arrived. When I finally got up half an hour later, I felt an incredible rush of gratitude. I happened to have some cookies in my car, so I left some by the tent, along with a note that read: “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

It is hard not to feel grateful for this dedicated bunch of students. They aren’t just dreamers. They mean business.

During Thanksgiving, two of them went to the Soviet Consulate in San Francisco to talk about practical ways to promote peace. The Soviets were so impressed that they sent a message direct to the Kremlin via diplomatic pouch and promised to help in any way they could. The same pair recently went to see Michael Killigrew, who organized the Soviet-American Student Summit in Helsinki, and convinced him to consider Pepperdine for the next student summit. Now they are circulating petitions and organizing a nationwide student peace vigil for the day of President Bush’s inauguration.

This is extraordinary stuff, but no more extraordinary than the message the angels announced 2,000 years ago: “Peace on earth, good will to all people!”

For the sake of this message, a small group of shepherds and scholars temporarily gave up their routine occupations and spent a long, cold night awaiting the birth of a child that would usher in a new age--an age of love. This was the first peace vigil, and the current one at Pepperdine will not be the last. The waiting and hoping for a just and peaceful world goes on.

ANTHONY MANOUSOS

Torrance