Genetics senior Grace Urban is the president of GYLN. She has been doing origami since she was 3 years old. GYLN has been planning to do an event with origami cranes since last semester.

“I think part of what motivated us to really pursue this project was all of the polarization that's happening in the country and honestly in the world right now,” Urban said.

She explained that the 1,000 cranes tradition is a way to bring people together and to hope for world peace. The theme of the project is fostering unity across the MSU and Michigan communities, as well as around the globe. 

The tradition of folding 1,000 paper cranes is rooted in Japanese folklore, with legend saying that making this number of cranes would grant a wish. The practice was popularized globally in the 1950s by Sadako Sasaki, who was two years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. When she was twelve, she developed leukemia and was hospitalized. Her roommate told her about the Japanese belief of 1,000 paper cranes. Sasaki folded 1,300 paper cranes but passed away from the disease in 1955. The cranes became a global symbol of world peace, hope and recovery.

After the mass shooting at MSU, a University of Michigan alum and her daughter sent assistant professor Marco Díaz-Muñoz 100 paper cranes which they folded themselves. Díaz-Muñoz shared them with his students. Despite the rivalry between MSU and U-M, the cranes represented unity between Spartans and Wolverines during a difficult time. 

Urban said origami is a great way to engage in something outside of a student’s own culture. She said the art also helps her relax her brain.

"This is the International Center, a space for any and all students at MSU, the place for students to come together," Urban said. “We thought that this would be a great place to hold it.”

Recent statistics graduate Sanjay Subramanian attended the event to support Urban. He said it was nice to learn about Japanese culture and do origami. 

“It’s always good to learn new things,” Subramanian said.

The event ran from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., inviting passersby to sit-down and learn the art of origami while contributing to the installation. The art installation will be displayed in the glass cases of the International Center, consisting of the 1,000 origami paper cranes made by Spartans of all backgrounds.

“I think it's good to just meet new people,” Urban said. “I think a lot of us fall into seeing the same people every day, not that that's a bad thing, but I think it's good to kind of know your community.”