The United Nations designated Nov. 29 as an international day for promoting awareness about the ongoing Palestinian conflict in 1977, according to Amal Muna, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and vice president of the Arab Student Association.,”Marquette students and community members will join together today in a candlelight vigil and procession down Wisconsin Avenue to commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People.

The United Nations designated Nov. 29 as an international day for promoting awareness about the ongoing Palestinian conflict in 1977, according to Amal Muna, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and vice president of the Arab Student Association.

The vigil and procession are being organized by the Arab Student Association, Marquette Student Government Diversity Commission and Peace Action Wisconsin, a peace and justice organization affiliated with Peace Action National.

Reema Ahmad, program assistant for intercultural programs and a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said students and community members participating in the vigil and procession will meet at 3 p.m. underneath the Raynor Memorial Bridge, and will then proceed to march down Wisconsin Avenue to Water Street carrying candles and signs with messages displaying their mission.

After the procession, a dinner and presentation by Ali Abunimah, a prominent advocate of Palestinian rights, will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Lunda Room of the Alumni Memorial Union. Ahmad said all those participating in the procession are highly encouraged to attend.

The ASA has observed the internationally recognized day in various ways in the past, but this is only the second year in which a vigil and procession will be held, Ahmad said. She said the various organizers of the event believed a vigil and procession would help raise greater awareness about the conflicts in Palestine and would allow people to express their support for those affected by it.

"Our goal is to bring attention to the ongoing conflict and inform people about how long it has been going on and what kinds of people are suffering," she said. "We want to remember that people are still being affected by this in a negative way, and try to do something to change it."

Sister Virgine Lawinger, a member of Peace Action-Wisconsin, said the procession is extremely important for the Milwaukee

community because the conflicts occurring in Palestine often do not receive adequate attention from the mainstream media.

"It is critical that we have days such as this to highlight the issues in Palestine and to show that we stand with the Palestinian people in their search for peace and freedom," Lawinger said.

Muna agreed the vigil will give voice to the problems in Palestine that often go overlooked.

"It is our hope that this event and others like it will bring attention to the issues that plague the Middle East today such as the Arab-Israeli conflict," Muna said. "In bringing attention to these issues, we hope students and the Marquette community at large will be more informed on perspectives that are often ignored."

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