The measure aims to curb campus violence, expand trauma-informed support, and institutionalize peacebuilding across FIU.
Jonathan Roman | Staff Writer
The FIU Student Government Association passed the Non-Aggression and Non-Violence Pact (NANV) in December, a resolution aimed at reducing violence and improving how campus conflicts are handled.
Introduced by Senator David Riera, the resolution focuses on promoting peace, respectful dialogue, and trauma-informed support for students. The pact is aimed at helping prevent harm and will create systems for addressing conflict on campus.
As part of the pact, the Senate will create a special task force known as the Panther Peacebuilding Coalition (PPC). This task force will be responsible for developing a campus-wide peacebuilding framework that can be used by SGA and university departments.
The PPC will work closely with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) on Campus, the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, the Dean of Students’ office, faculty members, and student organizations. The goal is to ensure campus policies and programs that prioritize student well-being, fairness, and recovery after harm occurs.
The resolution emphasized that the pact is about more than policy. It is a call for students, faculty, staff, and administrators to take shared responsibility for creating a safer, more supportive campus culture.
Senator Riera said to Panther Now, “Let’s face it, we are living in a moment where too many lives are being reduced to headlines, moments lost to violence, spurred by aggression, vanishing like tears in the rain. The NANV Pact is an intentional refusal of that cycle. It is not a resolution about protest or opposition, it is about co-construction. It is about actively choosing peace, not as (passive) weakness, but as (active) disciplined strength. It is about inoculating our community against violence by building relationships, structures, and practices (personal, communal, and college-wide) that make violence unnecessary. In a time when campuses nationwide are being destabilized by fear and threats, my fellow senators and I, along with our entire student government association, believe universities must lead by example. That’s what great leaders do, right? We lead from the front and by example.”
The resolution also encourages other Florida colleges and universities to adopt or adapt similar non-violent commitments. Senator Riera said, “My hope is that the NANV Pact helps reveal and cultivate that presence in-community here at FIU, and that it further lights a beacon across Florida, calling on our sister institutions’ Student Government Associations to help shape and implement NANV Pacts of their own.”
About Post Author
