It was a vision of the future. Jay Mac Michael, history teacher at Albemarle High School, trapped behind a desk swamped with papers and history books pulling up real time satellite shots of Tibet from space on google earth, while Jigme Norbu, nephew of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, addresses a classroom of thirty world history students eager to learn more about the issue of Tibet. The Marchers, numbering in the thirties as a result of considerable participation by the Tibetan Association of Charlottesville, mingled with the curious teenagers in the audience, who prior to our contact with their teacher admitted knowing very little about Tibet's continued occupation.

Considering it was the end of the semester and the following day of classes would kick off finals week, it was extremely surprising that we were able to set up the presentation, but Mr. Mac Michael was very eager to expose his students to issues occurring outside of US borders. When approached with the idea of having the Marchers come to speak to his class Jay immediately expressed interest and informed us that he would assign his students research to become more knowledgeable about the basics in order to spend this rare time together speaking about the deeper questions and concerns that Tibetans face.

After introducing the Students to the culture of Tibet via a screening of the short film "Grieve" by Douglas Herman, which documents life in the Tibetan Autonomous Region; Exiled communities in India, Nepal, and North America; and the international movement for independence; several of the Marchers, spoke to the students about the difference between growing up in America versus in a country occupied by an oppressive, and violent military regime. A local Tibetan named Gyaltsen, whose English teacher was among the audience, helped translate for Khempo, a monk from Charlottesville, and also discussed his personal experience of being imprisoned for advocating independence while living in Tibet.

Jigme's touched upon the issue of the Panchen Lama, the world's youngest political prisoner who has been under house arrest somewhere in China since his abduction in 1995. "If he [Genden Choekyi Nyima] were free and here today he would be sitting among you as a fellow student." He furthered "They [Chinese Government] believe that by holding this young boy away from his traditional post as the second most important spiritual leader in Tibetan Buddhism that they will crush Tibetan culture. However, they will fail to achieve their ultimate goal of controlling because Tibetans will never truly recognize any athiest communist Chinese appointed spiritual leaders such as their Panchen Lama- Gyaltsen Norbu."

Thought provoking questions were posed by many students concerning the history and successes of the independence movement; the existence and effectiveness of a Tibetan Government in Exile; the impact the railway from China to Lhasa will have on Han Chinese settlements; and how the world can influence the outcome of the ongoing tragedy. The lights flickered and power eventually was lost from heavy thunderstorms that descended upon the Charlottesville area, and just before power was officially lost Jay Mac Michael called out from behind a fortress of books to inform us that the real time weather report was not too rosy. Unable to leave and continue the walk, the Marchers and students continued their dialogue, dug deeper into the issue, and several young minds posed a difficult yet obvious question "What can I do to help? Past considerations of the growing power and influence of China in political and economic affairs, and His Holiness' stalled 'Middle Way' negotiations, looks of consternation flashed across young faces as they struggled to digest first hand accounts of an ongoing genocide. A young student came up to as the power came back on to let us know that his congregation might be able to help us when we reached DC and stressed that he felt "the Tibetan struggle is a prime example of the dire need for the value of humanity to grow exponentially." And so the torch is passed yet again.