Come in Peace

Walking to campus Thursday night was a bit like walking to a pro-sporting event. There were fewer jerseys and less raucous cheering, but foot traffic on the sidewalks along Forest Grove’s Main Street was certainly higher than the average weeknight.

Small groups made their way from parking lots and from the neighborhoods around Pacific University, converging on an entrance line that streamed out the door of the Bill & Cathy Stoller Center. Those with tickets waited to find a seat amid the 700 chairs and 1,000 bleacher spots prepared for the sold-out event. Others waited without tickets, hoping for last-minute openings in the venue.

Inside, the crowd ranged from college students — from Pacific and elsewhere — to families with middle-school-age children to elderly couples from the community taking advantage of the rare opportunity to hear from peace activist Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas Karamchand “Mahatma” Gandhi.

With silvery hair hanging a little long over his ears and temple and dark-rimmed classes perched on a bearded face, Arun Gandhi stood at a Pacific University podium to share with the crowd the lessons he learned from his grandfather amid the quest for India’s independence.