Jagir Pipalia oral history interview, 2019 November 8
Description
Jagir Pipalia, President of YesPlus (a meditation club at UNC Charlotte) and co-founder of Interfaith Niners, describes the history of Peace Haven, a meditation space established in the Cone Center in 2017. Mr. Pipalia shares his experience as President of YesPlus, a club that offered guided meditation several times a week and organized retreats for students to attend. He describes how the President of the Muslin Student Association (MSA) reached out to him during his leadership of YesPlus to inquire about reserving a meditation space for the MSA. He then relates how he and the MSA President formed a separate group called the Interfaith Niners and drew up a petition to request a meditation space on campus. When their request wasn't heard, they decided to organize a peaceful protest where students from all around campus sat in front of the Fretwell building. Mr. Pipalia relates that the protests finally convinced the University administration to provide the meditation space. During the interview he also discusses how the Peace Haven meditation space is used, why students need it, and the obstacles and prejudice that religious students face.
