News Editor- Jenna Anderson
Gustavus is once again hosting the MAYDAY! Peace Conference. The 2026 theme is “250 Years of Democracy? Revisiting the Declaration of Independence, 1776–2026.” This event will take place from 3:30-5:00 p.m. on Feb. 25th in Alumni Hall. All students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to attend.
“The format of the conference is a brief faculty keynote followed by a panel discussion. This format spotlights the expertise of our own faculty and models intellectual conversation across disciplines,” Senior Continuing Assistant Professor of Political Science and panelist of the conference, Lori Carsen Kelly, said.
Conference Director Yurie Hong (Greek, Latin, and Classical Studies Professor) said that including faculty from a wide range of departments across campus showcases the value of a liberal arts education.
“The greatest challenges of our world, especially those related to peace, require perspectives from all of these different areas,” Hong said.
The Keynote Speaker for this event is Professor of History and African and African Diaspora Studies, Kate Aguilar. The moderator is Professor of Mathematics, Computer Science, and Statistics, Jillian Downey. The conference also includes a panel of faculty members from different disciplines, made up of Associate Professor of Library and Archives Dan Mollner, Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre and Dance, Ernest Briggs, and Professor Kelly.
Joining the panel as a political scientist, Kelly said, “I plan to approach the topic of the Declaration of Independence and our founding ideals of liberty, equality, and self-governance as a political theorist.”
Other faculty will give insight on the topic based on their disciplines. “We hope that we will model what it is like to have a meaningful conversation across disciplines that students can go home and emulate,” Kelly said.
Each MAYDAY! Peace Conference since 1981 has focused on a pertinent social issue related to peace.
“What’s unique about the conference this year is that we are in a critical moment in our democracy at the same time as we are reflecting on 250 years since our nation’s founding. After a quarter of a millennium, where are we as a democracy and where are we going?” Hong said. “Other than the Civil War, I don’t think we have ever been in such a crisis in the history of this country as we are now.”
This year’s topic, focusing on the Declaration of Independence, “invites the Gustavus community to critically examine how the founding ideals of liberty, equality, and self-governance have been interpreted, contested, and reimagined over the past two and a half centuries—and what they demand of us today,” Kelly said.
Although “there are no easy answers,” Hong encourages students to take this opportunity to learn about what’s going on in the world.
“It is really important for us to take a moment in our busy lives to reflect on the gravity of the situation and what our role is, and try to work towards a democracy that works better than it has in the past,” Hong said.
The topic was chosen in part by student and faculty request, as a survey was sent out following last year’s conference, requesting feedback and topic suggestions. The other key factor was relevancy to current events. “I want it to be in response to the most pressing issues that are on people’s minds,” Hong said.
Hong plans to employ student workers to help with the conference next year, and encourages interested students to look out for (there’s some kind of student employment fair on advising day, still looking into it) if they are interested in hands-on learning about running a conference like this.
The way the conference functions has changed in recent years, for a variety of reasons, mostly due to “the fact that when I looked around on campus, there was so much amazing work being done, conversations being had, but behind the closed doors of classrooms. I wanted that to be put out and put it on stage at a time, especially post-COVID, when people just craved community and conversation,” Hong said.
Founded in 1981, funded by Florence and Raymond Sponberg, in its first years, the conference topics focused on heightened fears of nuclear war. With the conference being founded at this critical point in history, it was named after the international distress call: Mayday.
Until recent years, this event “was an all-day affair regularly featuring an oratory contest on the conference theme for local high school students, afternoon keynotes or workshop speakers, a resource room staffed by local organizations relevant to the topic, and a closing ceremony.” Political Science Professor and former Conference Director Loramy (Mimi) Gerstbauer said. They also frequently included film screenings and performances.
Although now focusing more on the Gustavus community, the interdisciplinary aspect of the event has remained.
“I wanted there to be more spaces where we as a community talk about ideas, and where students can see faculty talk to one another, where we spotlight… what it looks like to have thoughtful conversations from multiple perspectives,” Hong said.
The conference is designed to foster learning and conversations about peace across the Gustavus community, but it’s also an opportunity for students to go “course, discipline, and professor shopping,” Hong joked. Students may find a new topic they want to explore or places where their existing passions intersect based on what they learn at the conference, which is a feature of an interdisciplinary liberal arts education.
Gerstbauer emphasized how much the community can learn from this experience.
“You might find the conference raises more questions than it answers–a good problem to have!” Gerstbauer said.
Hong encouraged the community to attend the conference, bring a friend, and “revel in the fact that there’s not that many times in our day, our week, our lives where we can be together and really think through important issues. And there’s going to be good food!”