An enthusiastic crowd of about 300 gathered in the Ottawa University Chapel to hear renowned author Derrick Jensen deliver an Earth Day lecture on Friday, April 18. In addition to OU students, faculty and staff, several others from Lawrence, Kansas, and the Kansas City area made the trip to Ottawa to listen in.

Jensen spoke about the violence that industrial civilization has wrought upon the natural world, and the kind of strategies he believes people need to adopt in order to resist civilization's inevitable push to destroy the planet. Jensen addressed the nature of reality and society's tendency to view civilization and its corporate structures as more real, and of greater significance, than the natural world. Jensen also shared his belief that violence in our culture always flows down the chain of command, with the affluent and the powerful inflicting sanctioned violence on the poor and powerless, including the ecosystem.

"Derrick Jensen came to Ottawa University with a rare gift," said Andy Hazucha, associate professor of English, who helped arrange Jensen's visit. "He combined a tender-hearted compassion for a world in crisis with a prescient intellect that enabled him to identify and describe the violence we often fail to see."

Prior to the lecture, a reception for Jensen was held in Martin Hall. Jensen visited with members of the OU Biology Club as well as faculty and staff (pictured). "I was very happy with everything about this event, from how I was treated by my hosts, to the turnout, to the enthusiasm of the audience, to the clear intelligence of the questions," said Jensen.