Alumni Hall was packed on Oct. 29, when Quinnipiac hosted the premiere screening of “Albert Schweitzer: My Life is my Argument.”
The film was produced by Quinnipiac faculty members Liam O’Brien and Rebecca Abbott with intentions to inform students and viewers of the humanitarian values that Schweitzer promoted. The film was followed by a panel discussion. The panel consisted of Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, Luis Alberto Cordero, executive director of the Arias Foundation, and Jonathon Granoff, president of the Global Security Institute.
“The film had an excellent turnout,” Quinnipiac associate professor of Communications, Rebecca Abbott, said.
The film was a documentary on Schweitzer’s life and the philosophical beliefs he had toward more appropriate peaceful ways of living. Albert Schweitzer was a philosopher, physician, musician and humanitarian who dedicated his life to serving humanity. Throughout the movie were several steps toward accomplishing his goals. The film revealed his efforts toward improving the world starting with his childhood, working up through his adulthood and the affects he had on the world after his death. He opened a hospital in Africa to aid the ill and less fortunate. Since Schweitzer’s death, his hospital has grown to 72 buildings. He won the Nobel Prize for Peace and invested all of his money into his goals of improving humanity. The film also showed footage from Quinnipiac students’ trip to Nicaragua, where they helped build homes for the less fortunate. Schweitzer’s ideas have inspired people throughout the world to attempt to improve lives.
During the panel discussion, the panelists each took the podium and discussed individual concerns that they have been inspired by Schweitzer to approach.
Cordero spoke about the need for ATT or the Arms Trade Treaty, in order to regulate international weapons. He praised Schweitzer’s belief in “leading by example” in order to encourage students to contribute their skills and knowledge to improve the world. He recommended learning a new language or traveling to another country in order to expand one’s knowledge of the world. He stressed the importance of controlling the international arms trade in order to protect lives.
“The sooner we have the ATT, the less we will have to hear RIP,” Cordero said.
Goodall spoke about human beings’ need to focus on reparation rather than destruction.
“Like Schweitzer said, we are intelligent beings behaving like imbeciles,” said Goodall.
Goodall also spoke about her “Roots and Shoots” program which reveals the need for a strong foundation to work upward in effort to strengthen the world.
Granoff addressed his concerns about nuclear weapons and the disastrous affects they can have on the world. He displayed a demonstration during his speech, where he poured small stones into a container in order to reveal how many nuclear weapons there currently are in the world. He expressed the critical need for students to become involved.
“We have to be the grownups, it has to start with us,” Granoff said.
“Let’s get involved in anyway possible, let’s start rooting and shooting,” Alberto said.
