To prepare for a more peaceful future, we must remember the past.
That’s the goal of Genocide Awareness Week, which will include a series of events to honor the lives lost in tragic events throughout history, including today’s Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“It’s coming together as a university to remember this event in the hopes of it never happening again,” said Rachel Sharpe, 20, the Genocide Awareness Week marketing director and a UF public relations sophomore.
From 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, a testimonial from a Holocaust survivor will be held at UF Hillel. UF’s Holocaust Remembrance Walk will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the walk will go from Hillel to the Plaza of the Americas.
“My favorite is probably the walk because it is making a statement on campus,” said 20-year-old Tyler Ellman, Genocide Awareness Week co-director and a UF general theatre and telecommunication sophomore.
Last year 50 people participated in the walk, and this year Ellman said they hope to double that.
Liesel Appel, a daughter of a Former Nazi who converted to Judaism, spoke at UF Hillel on Tuesday night, and there was a showing of the movie “Hotel Rwanda” on Wednesday night.
The week of remembrance will end at 7:30 p.m. Saturday with the UF Choral Union’s concert, Protest Requiem, at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 4/16/2015]
