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November 25, 2015

Hail to Paris

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Chancellor Patrick Gallagher; Jean-Pierre Collet, former honorary consul of France; Lex Jones of the Office of the Mayor of Pittsburgh; UCIS director Ariel Armony; Provost Patricia Beeson; and European Studies Center director Ronald Linden.

Chancellor Patrick Gallagher; Jean-Pierre Collet, former honorary consul of France; Lex Jones of the Office of the Mayor of Pittsburgh; UCIS director Ariel Armony; Provost Patricia Beeson; and European Studies Center director Ronald Linden.

Amid somber music and words of hope, the campus community paused for a moment of silence and a show of support for the people of France and for the victims of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris.

“Hail to Paris,” organized by the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) and the European Studies Center, drew 250 people to the Forbes Quadrangle to express sympathy and to stand in opposition to hate and intolerance.

“We come today to express our support and our solidarity but probably most important, our unwillingness to let fear control us or to fall victim to religious or ethnic stereotype,” said European Studies Center director Ronald Linden in his welcoming remarks at the Nov. 18 event, where honorary consul of France Jean-Dominique Le Garrec and his predecessor Jean-Pierre Collet were honored guests.

Citing the University community’s many ties to France, and France’s position as the first ally of the United States, Linden said, “Our expression of friendship and of emotion and of support to the French people does not diminish, displace or supplant our sympathy and support for others who have suffered under terrorism,” acknowledging other recent terror attacks in Beirut, Baghdad and Jerusalem.

“We are here to say: We do not, and we will not, remain silent,” said UCIS director Ariel Armony, citing the duty of the scholarly community to take a stand against hate, violence, discrimination and intolerance.

Merging the musical traditions of east and west, the University gamelan ensemble and Paul Miller of Duquesne University performed a threnody for viola and gamelan by American composer Lou Harrison.

Merging the musical traditions of east and west, the University gamelan ensemble and Paul Miller of Duquesne University performed a threnody for viola and gamelan by American composer Lou Harrison.

“Our worst mistake would be to become used to violence,” and to consider such incidents routine, he said. “They are an attack on all of humanity. It is our responsibility to stand up against all senseless acts of violence.”

Said Chancellor Patrick Gallagher: “An attack like this, while occurring in a very specific place, is also an attack on all of us. It’s an attack on people who share our values, who did nothing wrong other than stand in the way of an ideology.

“It is very important that we all remember our commitment to the shared values that keep us strong: That freedom and those individual rights combined with tolerance and compassion are what make us truly strong,” the chancellor said.

“The events of Paris remind us of our collective responsibility to speak up and to stand up to all senseless acts of violence around the world. It’s together we really are stronger.”

—Kimberly K. Barlow     

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Attendees lined up to add their messages to a book that will be delivered to the French embassy in Washington, D.C. The Pitt “Hail to Paris” book will be available for signing in the UCIS offices, 4400 Posvar Hall, until midday today, Nov. 25.

Filed under: Feature,Volume 48 Issue 7

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