Three years ago, when 15 UC Irvine students from Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Druze and nonreligious backgrounds formed an unlikely alliance to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they became - to paraphrase Gandhi - the change they wished to see in the world.
Some founders of the Olive Tree Initiative changed majors. Some changed career paths. All say their involvement changed their perspective on the conflict.
"This group of ethnically, religiously, academically and economically diverse students resolved among themselves to become a new voice on campus, a respectful voice that could speak to the realities of life in Israel and the Palestinian territories," says Kirsten Quanbeck, assistant executive vice chancellor and director of UCI's Office of Equal Opportunity & Diversity.
