On Saturday, Nov. 10, the Walla Walla Public Library hosted a discussion entitled “Genocide in the Human Heart: from the Holocaust to Darfur.” The discussion, moderated by Councilwoman Barbara Clark, featured Associate Professor of Politics Bruce Magnusson and Rabbi Stanley Yedwab considering the implications of genocide.

The discussion aimed to promote awareness about the issue and bring it to the minds of people in Walla Walla and at Whitman.

“What are the major candidates for president saying about the genocide in Darfur?” Noah Leavitt from Congregation Beth Israel asked. “There is not much national coverage about this problem.”

The discussants started with short statements followed by questions by Clark and discussion. In the discussion Yedwab and Magnusson discussed the reasons for, the implications of and the ways to stop genocide in the world.

One of the major goals of the discussion was to bring together people from different ethnic, political and especially religious backgrounds. As Leavitt said, the deaths that are occurring are not a problem for just one group but for all humankind together.

“We hope that it will spark understanding about the problems,” Leavitt said. “We hope that it brings different religious groups together. We are also hoping that it brings to Walla Walla, Wash., how we are a part of a larger world.”

This discussion was held, as Leavitt said, with the hopes to make the issue more of a real thing for citizens and students alike.

“Even in Walla Walla,” Leavitt said, “you can change the world.”