Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez introduced a proposed set of guidelines for peaceful protesting at UNM's first Peace Fair on Tuesday.
In an interview Tuesday night, Chavez said Albuquerque's Free Expression Ordinance recognizes the differences between spontaneous and organized forms of expression. It draws the line between the type of expression that results from the breakout of war and organized forms of expression such as the state fair parade.
Spontaneous forms of protest no longer require a permit or insurance, he said.
He said he spoke at the fair because many protestors of the Iraq War were students involved in demonstrations at the University.
UNM's Peace Studies program hosted the fair with exhibits from about 50 organizations that filled the SUB ballroom.
Exhibitors focused on topics from the harm caused by radioactive dumping to clean energy to repealing the death penalty in New Mexico.
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The event was "a chance to educate the campus and statewide community about the UNM Peace Studies program," said Jenny Moore, Peace Studies director, in a news release.
Moore said she wants students and members of the community to understand better the importance of peaceful conflict resolution.
Topics such as the causes of violence, alternatives to violence and conflict resolution at the interpersonal, societal and international level were examined.
Melinda Smith, the founder of the New Mexico Center for Dispute Resolution and National Association for Community Mediation, delivered the keynote address.
Panels scheduled throughout the afternoon featured guest speakers from the University as well as other individuals engaged in peacemaking activities.
Robert F. Kennedy Charter High School students Josh Pirtle and Alyssa Garcia volunteered to spend the afternoon collecting signatures for a petition.
"We're trying to get a memorial for the victims of the maquiladora murders in Juarez, Mexico," Pirtle said.
He said something must be done to honor the lives of women who worked in the border-town assembly factories.
Garcia, who spent time working on Sen. John Kerry's presidential campaign, said she was disappointed with the re-election of President Bush.
U.S. foreign policy contributes to global violence, she said.
Garcia said, despite the setback, many young people are making a difference.
"We got around 200 to 250 signatures," she said. "That's many more than we expected."
Other exhibitors passed out anti-war and anti-corporation educational materials, bumper stickers and pins.
In addition to the panel presentations and displays, the fair featured storytelling, poetry reading, dance and dramatic performances.
