P EACE

TE A M
Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson
 TEAM PEACE
Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson
Team Peace
811 2nd Ave. N.
Fargo, ND 58105

April 30, 2010

Kevin Brooks
Minard 322E Albrecht Blvd.
Fargo, ND 58105

Dear Kevin Brooks:

The members of Team Peace have carefully examined your goals for the Virtual Peace Garden.
We recognize that there is a need for raising awareness of world and political issues, as well as a need for
creating a space for people to come and enjoy and learn about these specific issues. We also see that there
needs to be a place where specific events can be held.
We want to propose a space that will meet these requirements. Therefore, we would like to create
a space through the creation of a stadium. We are confident that our proposal of a stadium will accomplish
every one of the goals of the Virtual Peace Garden. Our stadium will be a space capable of holding any type
of event. Our stadium will also have the grandeur of the Olympic stadium, the “Birds Nest. We want to
people to come to our stadium and walk out feeling like they see the world in a different light, and feel they
had a chance to make a difference.
I believe that we are the team for the job. Our team consists of a landscape architect, web designer,
and architect. We are young, ambitious, and confident. We also are teachable, and willing to learn anything
that will better diversify us to bring the best and latest design aspects to our projects.
This is a big project but we have the drive and a vision, and our team will have no problem gathering
the resources necessary to make this project a reality.

Sincerely,

Weston Leutz Jeff Mellgren Zach Swanson

Web Designer Architect Landscape Architect

 TEAMTEAM
PEACE
PEACE
Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

MEET THE TEAM

Weston Leutz
Aka. Kalisomari Glenfadden
Web Designer

Our web designer is fluent in 4 different computer

languages, and has designed web sites. He will be able
to handle anything online. He runs track and field for
NDSU and wishes to one day participate in the Olympics.

Weston Leutz
Aka. Flyer11 Xevion
Web Designer

Our architect will make the project of the peace stadium

a reality. He has a good idea of what is required of a
place that brings people together. He has experience in
Revit Architecture, AutoCAD, Sketch-Up and specializes
in Photoshop.

Zach Swanson
Aka. Dwight Darkthorn
Landscape Architect

Our landscape architect will find a way to fit the Peace

Stadium into the landscape of the Virtual Peace Garden
in such a way that is both educational as well as
entertaining.

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 TEAMTEAM
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

Abstract:
This project is about awareness and refocusing attention on things that matter.
It is so easy for us to focus on our individual problems. But there are some
problems that we can’t fix on our own. When talking about global perspective
there is only so much a single country can do. Some countries are better off than
others. It comes down to resources and the influence of the people as a country.
Those countries that do not have access to essential resources become more
vulnerable to struggles. How are we going to deal with that as global inhabitants
of this earth? This issue of individual struggles is our focus.

In life we could go about our lives as individuals but we need each other to survive.
Our goal in this project is to support peace as a part of the “peace garden”. More
specifically our project will promote global peace. What is the only time there
is global peace? The closest we get is during the Olympics. Countries come
together in the spirit of competition and sports. Each country gets to represent
each their own while being a part of a global event. What if we could focus our
attention on the issues that arise due to the lack of resources? How can we let
the world know what is going on? The world needs a reality check. The Olympics
bring the whole world together so that would be the perfect time to change the
direction of our attention. Maybe courtiers would begin to realize that we all need
each other. Peace stadium will do just that.

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 TEAMTEAM
PEACE
PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

The Olympic games are where top athletes

from around the world come to compete, not
only for themselves but for their country. The
goal is to win Olympic gold. These games
are one of the few worldwide events that grab
the attention of the whole world. Every four
years these games come around, so when
they do, people around the world seem to
be enthralled and committed to cheering on
their countries’ team.

The designers of Team Peace want to take this concept

and apply it to world issues. We understand that
raising awareness of world and political issues is a
necessity particularly to this Virtual Peace Garden. Also,
we understand the importance of helping develop this
Virtual Peace Garden into a space where anybody can
come and enjoy, whether it is for educational purposes
or for mere entertainment. Thirdly, we understand that
a successful Virtual Peace Garden would hold specific
events on specific days to raise awareness of important
world and political issues.

With this being said, Team Peace would like to propose the
establishment of the “Peace Stadium”. This is where the
concept of the Olympic game comes in. We want to create
a space that will bring in people from around the real and
Second Life world, not only because of the grandeur of the
stadium, but because they want to know what is going on in
the world and what they can do to help. This stadium will be
a place to put up boards that display different issues from
around the world. This stadium will also provide a space
for the Virtual Peace Garden to hold special events to raise

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awareness of important world and political issues.
 TEAMTEAM
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

Proposal:
Ultimately, we understand that raising awareness of world and political issues is
of utmost importance. Therefore, let me give you a verbal tour of our stadium.
Imagine yourself standing before giant, intricately designed doors, and as they
slowly open they unveil a long, softly lit hallway. This signifies the start of your
journey, maybe a personal journey or maybe your journey in finding a way that
you can this world and there issues. Whatever it is, you will know that it will never
be too daunting because at the end of the tunnel you see the light. As you press
on towards the light, it continuously grows brighter; you also begin to make out
what seems to be a large, bright room, filled with the commotion that is typically
found at a major sporting event.

You finally reach the end of the tunnel and come to realize that you’re not alone
in your journey. Looking ahead, a giant archway greets you. This archway leads
to the giant field in the middle of the stadium. In the stands boards upon boards
displaying different world and political issues sit. Now, imagine yourself center
field, looking in the “crowd,” all you see is the different issues this world has and
they are watching you, waiting for you to do something, waiting for you to take
action and score the gaming winning goal. This may seem overwhelming, but
remember though, you’re not alone! After you have taken action, and found an
issue that has pulled your heart strings and is leading you to doing something
about it, you come back into the large room. In this room there will be shops and

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concessions, and all money spent would go to a cause of your choice.
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

The boards would be visually engaging in

order for the user to feel the urge to fly up and
take a closer look at the issues. As they read
over the problems they will either have the
choice of playing the game of soccer or to
continue moving around the stadium in order
to educate themselves. Looking around they
will find that more often than not others in the
stadium will be spending more time checking
out the boards as well.

Among the issues that we would like to have on the

boards are three in particular that we as a group have
thoroughly researched. The first issue that we would like
to expose is the pros and cons of offshore oil drilling. In
North America. Secondly, we will reveal the traumatic
treatment of children in Africa. Finally, we will illuminate
the issue of water in the Middle East. These are just three
of our hot button issues that we would like to start with
in the hopes of inviting others to join in and participate in
adding to and familiarizing themselves with current events
and issues around the world. That will keep everyone
coming back for more, including the three of us who will
be curious to see what others have to say.

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 TEAMTEAM
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

We really want to put an emphasis the design of the boards in the stands. It is
imperative that they not only catch the readers eye but they strike a nerve in the
reader making them care as much as we do. If we can inspire even one person
with these boards than we have accomplished something.

The boards will focus on facts that really put in perspective just how devastating
these issues are. Like we mentioned earlier, water in the Middle East is growing
more and more scarce. It is our goal to demonstrate just what that means to the
people not just living in the Middle East but also people that are going to feel these
effects across the world. Over 1.3 billion people have no access to clean drinking
water. 2.2 million people die every year from diseases related to unsafe drinking
water, which is about 10,000 deaths from bad water each day. That means that

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every minute 7 people die from bad drinking water.
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

As for offshore drilling in the USA, oil from offshore drilling could replace close
to 10 percent of our oil imports. This will make less dependent on the Middle
East. Also, the crude oil found in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico reach as
high as 40 billion barrels—enough to satisfy U.S consumption for up to five years.
Drilling could generate new jobs, and will lower oil prices (at the current level of
consumption) by around 9 percent.

And in Africa children are enslaved as soldiers, some are put to work as young
as the age of three. Many children soldiers are recruited off the streets. Many
children soldiers are recruited off the streets. Many of these children showed
symptoms of war trauma, malnutrition and numerous skin infections as well as
sexually transmitted diseases. Both government and rebel forces abducted many
children, who were socialized into violence shortly after their capture to prevent
them returning to their villages. Not only is the child told to forget their family
but they are forced to live a life of killing and violence. 200,000 child soldiers
throughout Africa are said to be abductedd into this terrible army of children.

We want to propose building a space that will bring people together and show
them all the issues of the world. Also, to provide a space that will be enjoyable
and educational, and be used for specific events that raise awareness. Our
vision will provide this Virtual Peace Garden a chance to become the epicenter of

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promoting peace. Our team will stand by our vision with confidence and see to
it that this becomes a reality.
 TEAMTEAM
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

Let’s step back for a minute, a stadium of this

size and grandeur might have some limitations.
Due to limited space in the Virtual Peace
Garden; a preferable size might have to be
compromised. Also, bringing in future architects
to build this stadium might be unfeasible. We
as Team Peace are unconditionally confident
in our proposal and our vision that any of these
limitations are merely pebbles in our path to
make this Peace Garden the Second Life hub of
raising awareness of world issue.

If you’re not already sold on our proposal,

then let us help you in solidifying that we
are the best team fit for the job. We are
young, ambitious, and confident. We also
are teachable, and willing to learn anything
that will better diversify us to bring the best
and latest design aspects to our projects.
This is a big project but it takes drive and
a vision, our team will have no problem
gathering the resources necessary to make
this project a reality.

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 TEAMTEAM
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PEACE Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson

Annotations:

Al Bab. ( 2009, June) An open door to the Arab World. Water in the Middle
East- Introduction. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.al-bab.com/arab/
env/water.htm.
The reason I chose this site is because it brought up an interesting point; because
there is a limited water supply the site brings up the idea of virtual water. Only the
wealthier Arab countries are able to meet the needs by desalinating seawater
therefore other surrounding countries are forced to depend on importing crops
and other goods in order to use less water growing their own. This concept is
referred to as virtual water. I thought there would be a lot of potential to connect
to Second Life, being that it is also a virtual concept. The site also provides links
to various other sites that seem quite informative.

Arie Issar. (1998, June) Water In the Middle East Conflict- The Water is a Parable.
Retrieved April 9, 2010 from http://www.mideastweb.org/water1.htm.
The site is helpful in presenting facts and numbers that will support the idea of
water depletion in the Middle East. The site is somewhat helpful in describing
what can be done to fix the growing and ever lingering problem. There is not
much information that I would use except a few important figures.

Newman, R. (n.d.). The Pros and Cons of 8 Green Fuels - US News and World
Report. US News & World Report - Breaking News, World News, Business
News, and America’s Best Colleges - USNews.com. Retrieved May 13, 2010,
from http://www.usnews.com/money/ personal- finance/articles/2008/01/11/the-
pros-and-cons-of-8-green-fuels.html
Rick Newman talks about the rising oil prices and they are effecting the
development of different gas. It give a bunch of different aspects the the pro and
cons each different kind of gas, who making them, and when they are coming.
I think this will be helpful in describing some that gases that will be developed if
we start drilling offshore.

Simmons, M. (n.d.). Oil Supply & Demand -- Energy Plan USA . Energy Policy,
Global Warming & Climate Change. Retrieved May 13, 2010, from http://www.
energyplanusa.com/oil
Simmons talks about all the jobs that will be made if we start offshore drilling. It
also talks about how much oil is actually out the there that is untapped. This will
be helpful in persuading the audience.
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(2005). The Rites of the Child: Global Discourses of Youth and Reintegrating
Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone. Journal of Human Rights, 4(2), 197-211. Re-
trieved from E-Journals database.
This article gives a brief background of Sierra Leone who’s status is based off
of the Civil War that took place from (1991-2002) One of the issue’s that stuck
out was the issue of child labor. Children were used to carry out acts of war.
They were used to carry out acts of violence as well as misused. For example
they were offered drugs and girls became pregnant. “By the end of the conflict,
a full 75 percent of the Sierra Leone population reported being displaced at
least once during the war”
“Today,according to the most recent Human Development Report by the Unit-
ed National Development Program, Sierra Leone is the country with the lowest
quality of life in the world (2003: 334).”
Even though aid efforts are being made but the UN violence could still break
out given certain circumstances. The United Nations has a large presence with
a large peacekeeping force as well as other UN-sponsored agencies, such as
the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees), UNDP(UN Development
Programme), UNICEF (The United Nations Children’s Fund), and WFP (UN
World Food Programme).

(2006). Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone and the Problems of Demobilisation,

Rehabilitation and Reintegration into Society: Some Lessons for Social Workers
in War-torn Societies. Social Work Education, 25(2), 119-128. Retrieved from
E-Journals database.
This article focuses much on the aftermath of child soldier issues. The chil-
dren are obviously going to be damaged as a result of this war. They need to
be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. The concept of a Gemeinschaft
environment is brought up and informs the issue of children being pushed
towards social movements. Children are assets to the family and provide the
family with income. Some are put to work as young as the age of three. Many
children soldiers are recruited off the streets. “Many of these children showed
symptoms of war trauma, malnutrition and numerous skin infections as well as
sexually transmitted diseases.” “Both government and rebel forces abducted
many children, who were socialized into violence shortly after their capture
to prevent them returning to their villages.” This article however does not give
much background on the specific problems of the child. The article uses many
scientific words and is hard to understand to the common reader.

William N. Dale. (1991). American Diplomacy. Commentary and Analysis: Middle

East Water Problems. Retrieved April 11, 2010 from http://www.unc.edu/depts/
diplomat/archives_roll /2001_07-09/dale_water/dale_water.html.
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Professor Dale has provided maps and charts that are going to be helpful as
well as an abundance of information regarding the pressing issue. I hope to use
this site in a number of ways. It not only explains why the area is suffering but
also how it affects the people and why it needs to be addressed sooner than
later. It explains that water from the Red Sea could be diverted to the Dead Sea. I
think this would be an interesting focus being that many people can relate to this
being that there are many areas of the world that are dealing with water issues.
Not just water shortages but also flooding (Fargo) and hurricane Katrina (New
Orleans). It will be interesting going forward.

World Health Organization. (1989). Health guidelines for the use of wastewater in
agriculture and aquaculture: Middle East Water Storage. Retrieved April 9, 2010
from http://weather.nmsu .edu/hydrology/wastewater/Wastewater.htm.
This site is a great source for highlighting organizations that are helping to fight
the water crisis. I believe this site will serve as a starting point to compare the
different countries in the Middle East as well as the groups in the various countries
and how they affect the cause.

Zwick, E. (Director). (2006). Blood Diamond (Full Screen Edition) Motion picture.
U.S.A.: Warner Home Video.
This movie is based during the civil war of Sierra Leone in 1992. The government
became corrupt and rebels formed who fought to overtake the government.
Those rebels led invasions of villages to kidnap people to be used. Innocent
people would be taken and recruited as slaves. In this case the father was taken
to a diamond field where he was out to work. The young son was kidnapped to
fight for the rebel force. The recruitment of child soldiers was one of the most
damaging aspects of the conflict that took place as a result of the civil war.
There were many events in the movie that described the vulnerability of the
children. The kids were brainwashed into thinking that they were being turned
into saviors who would save the country. They were told they would be soldiers
of the revolution. They were blindfolded and forced to shoot innocent people.
The children were also exposed to heavy drug use and alcohol use that brought
them into a life of deception and dependency. One scene in the movie showed
an orphanage where kids were exposed to things such as schooling, religion,
nourishment and activities such as playing SOCCER. there were still 200,000
child soldiers throughout Africa. This movie puts into perspective the powerful
effect that the separation of a family specifically the effects of the recruitment of
a child as a soldier. Not only is the child told to forget their family but they are
forced to live a life of killing and violence.
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Weston Leutz, Jeff Mellgren, & Zach Swanson