Jenni Fetters can fold a paper crane in the time it takes you to say ``supercalifragelisticexpialidocious'' - provided you say it slowly. And last Tuesday, Fetters and her friends were busy folding paper cranes as a peace wish for New York City.

``It was Kaori-sensei's idea,'' said Fetters. ``She teaches our upper level Japanese class and she told us that Purdue was sending 7,000 paper cranes to New York - one for every person who died in the tragedy. We wanted to participate.''

Therefore, on Tuesday night, several girls got together to fold as many cranes as they could. Despite a shaky start (and several cranes who looked more like parrots or flowers than cranes), the girls persevered. They plan to give their cranes to Professor Kaori Schau (Kaori-sensei), who will in turn the cranes in to her advisor at Purdue. The paper birds will then be sent to New York.

Not much help to them, you may say. But to the girls who participated, it means giving concrete proof of their hopes and prayers, as well as support for the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy.

The paper crane, a symbol for hope and peace, is made by using traditional Japanese origami. It was made world-famous after the death of a young girl in Japan.

In 1955, a 12-year-old girl died of leukemia. Her name was Sadako Sasaki, and she had contracted the disease from the radiation produced at Hiroshima by the atomic bomb dropped there at the end of World War II. Sadako was a real girl with dreams and hopes, but her story could have been forgotten just like millions of other stories of cancer victims. But it wasn't.

According to Japanese legend, anyone who folded 1,000 paper cranes would be granted any wish they desired. Sadako began to fold cranes during her hospital stay in hopes of achieving a miracle. She died before she reached the goal, but her classmates folded the remaining cranes.

After her death, Sadako became a worldwide symbol of peace.

In Hiroshima and in Seattle, Washington, there are peace parks with statues of Sadako. People come to these parks and leave folded paper cranes at Sadako's feet to show their hope for world peace. At the foot of the statue, there is an inscription:

This is our cry

This is our prayer

Peace in the world.

This peace wish now extends to New York. As Sadako herself said of her cranes: ``I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world.''

For more information about Sadako, her cranes, and the Peace Program, check out these links: www.sadako.com or www.sadako.org or the book: Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Michiko