STUDENT WAVES Sept. 17, 1999 (No. 80)
WORLD STUDENTS CONFERENCE

 On Sept. 11, SGI students from 25 countries
held the 4th SGI World Students Conference in Tokyo. Students from France,
South Korea and Argentina shared activity reports. An SGI Students
Declaration toward protecting human rights in the 21st century was also
agreed on. Chicago student division member Wendy DeSouza represented the
United States. The World Students Conference was part of the SGI Youth
Training Course, which more than 400 youth division members from 55
countries attended.

THE SGI PRESIDENT ON THE TEMPLE ISSUE

 At a Sept. 8 leaders conference
during the Youth Training Course, SGI President Ikeda stressed that
Buddhism is win or lose, and that battles in the realm of Buddhism must
not be fought halfheartedly. In any country where, as in Japan, priests of
the Nikken sect are attempting to obstruct the kosen-rufu movement, it is
vital that the SGI members give them no quarter, he said, recognizing them
clearly as the enemies of the Buddha that they are. See the Sept. 24 World
Tribune for more. For information on subscribing to the World Tribune,
call 1-800-835-4558 or e-mail SGISUBS@aol.com.

PHOENIX STUDENTS

 Denise Stinnett, who is in charge of the Arizona State
University Student Group, writes: "On Aug. 29, two Phoenix chapters banded
together with the student division to create one of the most memorable
meetings of the year. Our determination for the success of the Victory
Over Violence campaign kept us going through long days and nights of
planning. The meeting was geared toward guests, with 100 fliers
distributed on the ASU campus. The meeting began with Master of Ceremonies
Jassy Nanini giving a brief explanation of the SGI and Nichiren
Daishonin's Buddhism, followed by a short version of gongyo. Arizona Area
Young Men's Division Leader Shee-thong Ho gave the first presentation on
President Ikeda's Peace Proposal. Next, young women's division members
Kayo Hamajima and Jee Moon did a presentation on Bodhisattva Never
Disparaging. After the presentations, student division members Denise
Stinnett and Dustin Morrissey, along with high school division member
Desiree Morrissey, performed a comedic skit pertaining to nonviolence. 
Following the skit, student division members Denise, Dustin, Suguru Abe,
Fumitaka Terada, Takahiro Sasakawa, Juna Yasui and Mitsuko Ikeuchi gave a
presentation on VOV, focusing on the Youth Peace Committee's Quest for
Peace packet. Possibly the most profound part of the meeting was the
experience Rena Dean gave about her personal victory over violence and the
power of her mother's daimoku. Because the meeting ran a bit past
schedule, the Quest for Peace video was shown after the meeting to those
who were able to stay. The strong guest turnout and the smiling faces of
the members made our meeting a true victory." Suguru Abe also reports that
the ASU Student Group has started setting up a table on campus every
Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., near the center of the university,
to introduce their student club. Every other Thursday, they are setting up
a television and VCR there to play the Quest for Peace video. The first
Thursday they did this, 10 students they met signed VOV pledges.


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