EVENT CANCELLED: Dr. Mary Posner - "Paths to Peace: A BSU Anti-War Activist Looks Back” on Wednesday, April 13 by Zoom

April 12, 2022

EVENT CANCELLED

Dr. Mary Posner graduated from Ball State in 1970. She was in the Honors Program. During her junior year (1969-1970), she started the Vietnam Moratorium Committee on campus and directed monthly antiwar activities from October through April.

Phil/Rels Conversations series
"Paths to Peace: A BSU Anti-War Activist Looks Back”
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
5 p.m. on Zoom

Dr. Posner will share her experiences about what it was like to lead the antiwar movement at a conservative university like Ball State and to represent the Midwest in the national spotlight. She will reflect on what motivated her to take on the challenge of organizing protests for seven months in a row and the background she drew on to meet that challenge. She will make her remarks brief so that she can respond to questions. In the past, the most common question has been how she kept going in the face of so much resistance. Hopefully, she will be able to inspire students to find a cause that moves them and to do what they can to make a difference in the world.

The October moratorium was one of the largest demonstrations in the United States up to that point with over 2 million participants across the country. Because of media interest in what was going on in the Midwest, Dr. Posner was featured on NBC news. In 2019, Dr. Posner and Dr. Michael Doyle (who was a history professor at Ball State at the time), organized a day-long 50th anniversary commemoration of the VMC at Ball State. It was the only commemoration of its kind in the US. As a result of this activity, Dr. Posner was invited to participate on a panel discussion at George Washington University commemorating the 50th anniversary of “The Mobilization for Peace.” She also delivered some remarks in front of the White House at the end of that event.

Dr. Posner got her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at Indiana University in 1978. She currently lives in rural Perry County, Indiana and has a private practice in psychology in Rockport, Indiana. She is married to Lou Posner, an artist and Vietnam veteran whom she met as a result of her antiwar activities. Dr. Posner’s appearance on NBC News, and her three speeches at Ball State and Washington, D.C. can all be found on YouTube if you search for Mary Munchel or Mary Posner.

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