Last Tuesday, Sonoma State University hosted a heartfelt Peace Tribute ceremony honoring the campus’s commitment to peace, resilience, and global understanding. The event marked the installation of three Hiroshima peace trees and a peace pole, symbols deeply rooted in a decades-long global movement for a world free of nuclear weapons.
The ceremony opened with remarks from a speaker representing the Sonoma Peace Project, an organization founded in the 1980’s under the Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County. The group’s mission is to create a world free of nuclear arms and promote nonviolent solutions. Their message grounded the ceremony in the broader historical struggle for peace, reminding attendees that the call to disarmament remains as urgent today as it was four decades ago.
The installation of the three peace trees, which are descendants of a tree that survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and the multilingual peace pole symbolize SSU’s dedication to global harmony serves as a living reminder of humanity’s resilience after tragedy.
Among the speakers was Nayeli Nuno-Ledezma, a double major in Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies who was invited by her professor, Dr. Bryan Burton, who co-led a university study abroad trip to Japan. Her decision to speak came from a personal place. “These symbols are important to our campus,” she said. “They remind us of the fight it takes to rise from the ashes and rebuild.”
During her remarks, Nayeli reflected on her visit to Hiroshima, where she met Sadae Kasaoka, a survivor of the atomic bombing. “Hearing her story was gut-wrenching and soul-crushing,” she shared, “but what stayed with me most was her capacity to forgive, to see hope even after unimaginable pain.”
For Nayeli, the peace ceremony was not just symbolic but personal. “These trees and this pole are reminders for all of us, students, staff, and community members—to choose peace in our daily lives,” she said.
As the event concluded, attendees stood beneath the newly planted young trees, listening quietly to the wind move through their leaves, and a gesture of collective reflection and hope. The peace pole, inscribed with the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in different languages, now stands as a beacon on campus—a testament to the generations of peacebuilders, from Hiroshima to Sonoma County, who continue to plant seeds for a more compassionate world, free of nuclear fear.
