A student branch of The Peace Alliance, a nonpartisan national organization promoting peace, was formed recently to include students in Gainesville.
Eric Estling said he is starting the organization, which is open to students from UF, SFCC and local high schools, to take on the issue of peace from a young person's point of view. The Peace Alliance's focus is to gain support for a bill to establish a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace.
Estling, a dual-enrolled high-school student at SFCC, said a student branch would help to get the word out about the peace bill and the group's mission. Twelve students have shown an interest in the organization, which will hold its first meeting next week, he said. Estling, who is also involved with the group on the national level, said he doesn't have any set plans for the organization yet because he wants to get feedback from members.
"Gainesville is a great place to start a student branch because it has a good youth community," he said.
