Peace, one stitch at a time

What started as a simple class project, Knitivism is becoming a growing presence on Penn State's campus as a form of peaceful protest and activism with only needles and yarn to do the talking.

Similar to Knitta Please and Jerilea Zempel, the students of Knitivism use the act of knitting as a way to promote peace. Because knitting has certain stereotypes, seeing students knitting in public is sure to gain some attention by people passing by.

It began in a women studies class taught by Stephanie Springgay and she asked her students to try knitting in public areas like the sidewalk or the bus, and see peoples reactions. From there, some of the students in that class realized that with all that attention, a lot of good could come out of it. In the Fall of 2008 Knitivism was started, and it is still growing.

Some of their events have been held to bring awareness to human rights issues like sexual violence against women and the genocide in Darfur. In addition to raising money through donations, the group also knits works that will be donated, such as scarves and peace blankets. Some events that they have planned are for Earth Day and Take Back the Night.

So if you're walking through Penn State's campus and you see a group of people knitting, stop by and ask what they're doing, they will even take the time to teach you how to knit.