Loyola is gearing up to host its 7th Annual Peace Conference, where students will examine and discuss various political and social issues in connection with the term “peace.”

This year the conference, which will be held from April 13 to April 17 in the Audubon Room in the Danna Center, will focus on topics such as race, gender, international relations and human rights in relation to peace and justice.

Nicole Eggers, interim faculty advisor for the conference, said this year’s conference will be different from previous years because this year the term “peace” will be looked at comprehensively.

“In particular, we have tried to make it clear that peace and justice are connected.  As such, we have encouraged students to present on topics that bring the two together,” Eggers said.

Kevin Miller, history senior and student organizer for the conference, said that there will be four panels, including “Spotlight on Palestine,” “The Uses and Abuses of Punishment,” “Gender and Political Discourse in Multicultural World” and a dual panel on “Social Issues and Resistance in the African-American Community” and “Nuclear Politics and Diplomacy in the Middle East.”

Miller said that the keynote speaker for the event is Jessica Krug, professor of African History at George Washington University.

“She’ll be presenting about seductive power of peace and sort of how the idea of peace can turn away from justice with the example of Africa and the African Diaspora,” said Miller.

Diane Hamayel, economics freshmen, said this will be her first time attending the conference and that there are a number of topics that interest her.

“I’m excited to hear Papeli Farahani present on the ‘Palestinian Social Justice Theater: Changing the Face of Resistance’ and Molly Mulroy’s presentation on ‘Through the Eyes of a Child: Handala as a Witness for the Palestinian Question,’ as well as the panel on ‘Iranian-American Detente’ by Alex Kneib and ‘Nuclear Politics: How Disarmament Changes Foreign Policy’ by Dylan DiMartino,” Hamayel said.

This year, all of the student presenters are from Loyola, whereas in past years the conference has featured students from other local universities as well.

Miller said that students should come to the conference because it will give them a chance to engage in discussions with their peers and support the presenters.

He said the question and answer sessions will help students learn how the presentations relate to current political situations in the world.