By Jason Woods
This Sunday, socially conscience groups from area campuses and the community-at-large will come together to put on Rock 4 Peace, a concert taking place at The Roxy, which will mark the seventh annual International Peace Day.
The event, featuring local DJs, and performers like VJ Zebbler, Mochilla, Dave Scandurra and the Excited People and Soul Clap DJs is organized by the Boston-based non-profit group Students 4 Peace.
Students 4 Peace will also be partnering with other local area action groups, including Mass Power Shift, Headcount and The Alliance for Middle East Peace, to put on the event.
These groups are joining forces to help raise money for children affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the fight against malaria, with help from the advocacy group Africa Fighting Malaria, said recent Emerson graduate and Students 4 Peace founder Yoni Vendriger.
Vendriger said she wants to use this opportunity as a platform to raise awareness on a number of global issues.
“When I started Students 4 Peace, I had three goals in mind: peaceful coexistence, global health concerns and environmental awareness,” she said. “As part of our global awareness, we’re going to be focusing on malaria awareness.”
Vendriger said that along with performances, there will be video presentations and speakers from each of the sponsoring organizations between sets.
Elizabeth O’Donnell, a junior at Boston University and Boston team leader for the organization Headcount, which encourages voter registration, said the emcees for the evening will be Israeli Jew Noam Shuster-Eliassi and Israeli Palestinian Lisa Hananiya, who fall on opposite sides of the dispute in the Middle East but are making a statement by coming together for the cause, a gesture she hopes resonates with audience members.
“We’d love to get 800 people, [and] just pack the place out,” O’Donnell said. “But as long as we have people that come to stand up for something and feel like they were part of something special, then it’s going to be a success.”
O’Donnell said she also hopes the event’s roots to Headcount will encourage at least 40 or more participants to register to vote for the first time in the upcoming election.
“It’s a crucial time, and everyone’s voice needs to be heard,” she said.
Vendriger said Rock 4 Peace is just the beginning of her work, and that she is looking further and will be creating a new web network called “Soconetwork,” which stands for “socially conscience network.” Vindriger said she hopes launching Soconetwork will bring local organizations together with swelling numbers, and potentially make them stronger as a cohesive unit. She said she thinks it’s important for students to continue to raise awareness for these issues.
“There are so many student groups from around the cities that all have different missions, but are working toward similar goals,” she said. “With this new network, we hope to create a community at a regional level, working together.”
Although fliers for the concert have been placed in Northeastern hot spots, like Espresso Royale Cafe, some Northeastern students, like sophomore biochemistry major Tara Dhingra, said they didn’t know about it.
“It sounds really cool though, something I agree with,” Dhingra said.
Rock 4 Peace is an 18+ event and will take place Sept. 21 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., at The Roxy on Tremont Street. Tickets are available for $10 in advance at www.students4peace.org, and can be purchased for $12 at the door.
