The student-led movement to end mass atrocities.

Spotlighted Chapter of the Week: Ohio University STAND’s 1100 Faces Campaign

A Creative Way to Showcase Your Chapter’s Support

by Lily Mathias and Ellie Hamrick
Ohio University STAND

When we saw last year’s report that 1100 women and girls are raped every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we were outraged. That number should not be just a statistic—we wanted to emphasize the human element. So we started collecting photographs of students, parents, alumni, faculty, staff and community members holding signs saying they want to see a conflict-free campus. We made some signs ourselves and also invited participants to make their own.

We created the 1100 Faces Campaign and compiled a visual petition calling for action and justice in the DRC. Not only did this provide a tool to represent the broad support for the conflict-free campus movement to administrators, but it also provided us with a platform to raise awareness. In collecting photos of 1100 people, we had the opportunity to talk to each of them about the situation in the DRC and their power as consumers to stand up for human rights. Once we finished, we created a video using songs (with permission!) by Congolese-American rapper Omékongo Dibinga. We’ve also used the photos on fliers to advertise events around campus.

If you’re struggling to reach a broad audience or need a more creative, visually compelling way to showcase the support your STAND chapter has, this can be a great tool to utilize. The project easily initiates conversations with complete strangers about the violence in the Congo and leaves you with a great finished product to share with administrators and other stakeholders. To get started you can talk to people in your classes, at your work, in a coffee shop, while tabling, and at events held by your school. (We got about half of our pictures at an International Street Fair.) The opportunities to reach out to people are around every corner; you simply have to take advantage of them.

Check out OU STAND’s amazing 1100 Faces Campaign video below!

Want to be a spotlighted chapter of the week? E-mail us at info@standnow.org with updates on what your chapter is doing to make stopping and preventing genocide a priority in your community.

Spotlighted Chapter of the Week: STAND UNC – Chapel Hill

This week we’re highlighting STAND at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. STAND UNC sent a 6 person delegation to the United to End Genocide Action Summit in October including STAND National Education Coordinator Sean Langberg. Thanks to STAND UNC for being a part of the Summit!

STAND UNC
Lorna Morris
AJ White
Nicole Chaluissant
Kat Kucera
Hanna Kerner
Sean Langberg

"STAND-UNC is grateful for the opportunity to attend the conference last month and looks forward to implementing strategies we learned and maintaining contact with fellow anti-genocide activists."

Mission Statement:
STAND UNC aims to bolster the United States’ and United Nations’ will and capacity to prevent and end genocide and crimes against humanity by building a local student constituency actively fighting to pass genocide prevention legislation, fully implement peace agreements, support democratic institutions, and destroy institutional ideologies such as racism, classism, militarism, imperialism, and isolationism that perpetuate profound human rights violations in conflict areas across the globe.

Want to be a spotlighted chapter? E-mail us at info@standnow.org!

Spotlighted Chapter of the Week: UT White Rose Society

In our next installment of spotlighted chapters, this week we’re highlighting the University of Texas White Rose Society, who sent a 5 person delegation to the End Genocide Action Summit on October, including STAND Communications Coordinator Shomya Tripathy and STAND Communications Task Force Blogger Zoya Waliany. Thanks guys for coming to the Summit!

UT White Rose Society
Ben Weiss
Shomya Tripathy
Zoya Waliany
Kolby Lee
Tramanh Hoang

"This phenomenal conference has helped reawaken our passion for pursuing our local chapter’s motto, ‘We will not be silent!’"

About the UT White Rose Society: Our name is a tribute to the White Rose Society at Munich University started in 1942, a group of students who spoke out against the Holocaust and Hitler using non-violence. History remembers them as the heroes of the German people. They lost their lives but not the freedom of their hearts and minds. Their motto is now ours: We will not be silent!

 

Want to be a spotlighted chapter of the week? Have a great event you want to tell us about? E-mail us at info@standnow.org with the details and you could be featured on our homepage!

Spotlighted Chapter of the Week: University of New Hampshire STAND

In our continuing series of spotlighted chapters, this week we’re profiling University of New Hampshire STAND. UNH sent an astonishing eight upSTANDers to the End Genocide Action Summit in October.

Thanks to UNH STAND for coming out to the Summit!

UNH STAND writes, "We had a great time at the conference and found the motivation and inspiration we need to begin a Conflict-Free Campus Initiatve at the University of New Hampshire!"

UNH STAND
Megan Brabec
Mark Scimone
Jimmy Assad
Michelle Fecteau
Tom Dolzall
Caroline Graham
Hannah Waller
Alyssa Taffaro
 

Spotlighted Chapter of the Week: Goucher College STAND

Prior to the End Genocide Action Summit, we announced that every chapter that sent 5 or more people to the Summit would be featured on the homepage for a week — and we’re kicking off our Spotlighted Chapter Feature with Goucher College STAND, who sent an amazing 6 upSTANDers to the Summit in October.

Thanks to Goucher College STAND for being a part of the Summit and for your commitment to a generation without genocide!

Goucher College STAND
Chiara Collette – President
Christina Murphy – Vice President
Gabrielle Spear
Katherine Mowrer
Cailin Barker
Laura Henry

A Student’s Perspective: Attending the End Genocide Action Summit in D.C.

By Hannah Finnie, Advocacy Training Coordinator. Originally posted at the Emory University Center for Ethics. Cross-posted with permission from the author.

Hannah & Phillips Academy STAND in Washington, DC for the Summit

Earlier this month, I was honored to attend the End Genocide Action Summit in Washington, D.C. as the Advocacy Training Coordinator for STAND, a student-led anti-genocide organization. The End Genocide Action Summit was the inaugural conference of United to End Genocide, and judging by its success, the conference will be the first of many to come. United to End Genocide is a new and flourishing organization that came to fruition upon the merger of the Save Darfur Coalition and Genocide Intervention Network. STAND, which is the student-led division of United to End Genocide and boasts over 600 chapters worldwide, focuses not only on the wide array of current genocides, but also on genocide prevention.

My involvement with STAND formally began in 2008, when I learnt of the chapter at my high school and joined. However, the mission and importance of STAND has been ingrained within me ever since seventh grade, when I decided to interview my Grandma for a history project. While I was aware that the many of my extended maternal relatives were holocaust survivors, I never really knew their stories and struggles. Interviewing my own Grandmother on such a sensitive subject matter was difficult, to say the least. Then, in my very last question, I asked my Grandma if she forgave the Nazis, the perpetrators of the atrocities she had suffered through for years on end and that continued to haunt her for years to come. Expecting her to immediately dismiss my question, I was astounded when my Grandma answered with a strong and definitive “yes.”

My Grandmother’s innate strength to forgive the perpetrators of such heinous crimes serves as daily inspiration and is enough to convince me that, as a human race, we can come together to permanently end genocide. With that one interview, the spark within me had been ignited.

Thus, when I stumbled across STAND a few years later, joining the organization was an easy and natural step. In high school, I dedicated much of my time and energy to STAND, bringing speakers to campus, organizing various fundraisers, and raising awareness of genocide on campus. Furthermore, when the opportunity to become more involved in STAND arose near the end of my high school career, I eagerly jumped at the chance. Today, as Advocacy Training Coordinator for the national STAND organization, I help coordinate and execute STAND’s many advocacy efforts.

So, what about this conference? In short, it was inspiring. Meeting with activists around the world that share my passion for genocide prevention only built upon my own passion for the cause. Instead of my typical college weekend catching up on sleep, I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning discussing the current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burma. Instead of learning about advocacy in my political science class, I witnessed the true meaning of advocacy when STAND constituents met with over one third of the Senate on a single day to make their voices heard. Instead of learning about past genocides and the words of “Never again,” I learned about what anti-genocide activists are doing right now to make those words a reality.

Thus, I am forever grateful for the enduring and inspiring efforts of STAND in the crucial, and often frustrating, fight against genocide. Furthermore, I am indebted to the members of STAND, students from across the globe, who continually reignite the spark within me to carry on my own anti-genocide efforts as a student at Emory University. In the upcoming weeks and months, I hope to revitalize Emory University’s commitment to building a better world by introducing the Conflict Free Campus Initiative.

If you have any questions or comments about my experiences with STAND, please do not hesitate to contact me at hfinnie@standnow.org.

-Hannah Finnie

Hannah Finnie is a Freshman at Emory University and is a work-study student for the Center for Ethics and the Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) Program.

Durham Academy STAND collects 250 citizen cosponsorships!

Submitted by Ashley Jowell, Durham Academy STAND

Durham Academy STAND recently had a citizen cosponsor event to encourage students to sign on as a citizen co-sponsor urging senators Hagan and Burr to take decisive action to ensure accountability for the human rights abuses in Sudan (including Darfur, South Kordofan, and the Blue Nile Region). Every student who signed two citizen cosponsors forms (one for Senator Burr and one for Senator Hagan) received a free baked good that chapter members baked! The event was a huge success: we got over 250 citizen cosponsor signatures for both Senators Burr and Hagan, and this would not have been possible without the help from all of Durham Academy STAND’s members! The event not only helped convey the importance of taking action for the citizens in Sudan to our senators, but also helped to educate the Durham Academy community of the atrocities occurring there, and helped to continue to establish DA STAND’s presence at our school.

Congratulations to Ashley and Durham Academy STAND for a very successful event!

 

Get Your Shot at the Spotlight — and Your Free Stuff!!

Get Your Shot at the Spotlight — and Your Free Stuff!!

On Monday we announced that every chapter that sends 5 or more people to the conference will be featured on our homepage for a week, and now, we’re gonna up the ante. The chapter that sends the most people to the conference will get featured on the homepage for a month as well as receive FREE STAND MERCHANDISE for their chapter!

Free stuff you say? Yes, totally free STAND merchandise for your chapter — so start recruiting now!! We already have some pretty big delegations headed to the conference — are you ready to take on the competition and get your shot at the spotlight and your free stuff? Check out the competition leader board below to see who’s in the running, start recruiting from your chapter and register now! And don’t forget about the financial aid application — there’s still plenty of financial aid available, so apply now!

COMPETITION LEADER BOARD

UPDATED 10/19/2011

16* – George Washington University
12 – Topsail High School
12 – Georgetown University
11 – Furman University
9 – University of New Hampshire
9 – Phillips Academy Andover
9 – Ithaca College
7 – University of Minnesota
7 – University of Texas at Austin
7 – Ohio University
7 – Goucher College

*Indicates delegation size

Testimony of Tom Andrews at Congressional Hearing on Sudan

Testimony of Tom Andrews at Congressional Hearing on Sudan

After months of demanding to be heard, United to End Genocide secured a Congressional Hearing “Sudan: The Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis in South Kordofan and Continuing Human Rights Violations in Darfur” which occurred today at 10am. Below is the testimony by UEG President Tom Andrews.

Testimony of the Hon. Thomas H. Andrews
President of United to End Genocide
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
“Sudan: The Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis in South Kordofan and Continuing Human Rights Violations in Darfur”
September 22, 2011

Thank you Chairman Wolf, Chairman McGovern and members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for holding this hearing. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to testify before you today on the escalation of attacks against civilians in Sudan. So many members of this Commission have been long-time champions of peace and accountability in Sudan. Your leadership on Sudan is critical.

I was in the region a little over two months ago visiting Rwanda, Kenya and South Sudan, and in Juba just weeks after violence broke out in South Kordofan. Everywhere I went I heard story after story of the horror that continues to be inflicted. Two refugees from Darfur told me about their harrowing experience of being awakened at dawn by the sound of hooves and gunfire as the Janjaweed raided their village. They fled to South Kordofan’s Nuba Mountains and described how the people there welcomed them. They expressed their alarm and horror that the same regime that had forced them to flee their homes in Darfur was now attacking the very people who provided them refuge.

The common denominator in the devastating attacks on civilians in both Darfur and South Kordofan is Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. Let me be clear – Bashir is a genocidal monster who is already wanted by the International Criminal Court for directing atrocities in Darfur. Since Bashir came to power in a military coup in 1989 he has murdered, starved and destroyed the lives of millions of innocent civilians in South Sudan, Abyei, Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

I have provided additional details on the violence being perpetrated across Sudan by Bashir’s forces in my written testimony. But my focus today is on what is happening now in South Kordofan and the stories that were told to me by the people I met.

I spoke to several people displaced from South Kordofan’s Nuba Mountains when I was in Juba in early July. The numbers of displaced have only increased since then. Two priests who had just arrived after a narrow escape told me that the Sudanese Armed Forces and allied militias had gone door to door, targeting people based on their religion and the color of their skin. They spoke of churches being burned and looted. One church was hit by a bomb as Antanov planes, the same used to terrorize the people of Darfur, launched indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas. That was in July. The attacks continue.

But it doesn’t stop there: Bashir has also refused to let in desperately needed food, water, medicine and fuel. International aid NGOs have been tossed out. One of the displaced priests I met with had heard just that morning from a colleague still in the Nuba Mountains that food stocks were running low, trade routes were blocked, and no new aid was being allowed in. He told me that at least one million innocent people are at risk in South Kordofan.

This year alone, more than half a million people have been displaced by fighting throughout Sudan. United Nations reports indicate the likelihood of ethnic cleansing in Abyei, and war crimes and crimes against humanity in South Kordofan. We suspect similar atrocities have occurred in Blue Nile.

Recent violence directed by Bashir makes it very clear, when left unchecked this genocidal monster will simply continue to do what he has always done: commit unspeakable atrocities.

So what can the United States do? Past experience demonstrates that the Bashir regime only responds to consequences. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration is failing in the face of these ongoing atrocities. Recent statements by the State Department do not place appropriate emphasis on the Government of Sudan as the party overwhelmingly responsible for violence against civilians. Even more importantly, action from the Administration is severely lacking. Accountability is not being demanded. Civilians are not being protected. Bashir is being allowed to commit atrocities with impunity. Again. Unless this policy course is corrected, many more civilians will lose their lives.

In my view the Obama Administration needs to do three things:

First, expand sanctions on individuals responsible for atrocities throughout Sudan. Current individual sanctions for atrocities are specific only to Darfur. Anyone who commits heinous crimes must be held accountable regardless of where in Sudan these atrocities take place.

Second, make saving lives in Sudan a high priority in our dealings with other nations – particularly those that can exert the most leverage on Bashir. We need increased and coordinated sanctions by the international community starting with our European allies. Maybe even more importantly, the United States must work to move China in a new direction. The Chinese have a great deal of leverage with the Government of Sudan. Their significant monetary investment makes it in their interest to have a peaceful and stable region. But their actions belie their interest and denigrate values that we have a moral obligation to defend and advance. The red carpet that the Chinese government literally unfolded for Bashir just months ago in Beijing was an outrage. We need to hear that outrage spoken loudly and clearly by our leaders.

Finally, weapons must be stopped from flowing into Sudan and innocent people must be protected. The U.S. must spend political capital to pass a United Nations Security Council resolution that expands individual sanctions for perpetrators, expands the existing arms embargo on Darfur to incorporate all of Sudan, expands the mandate of the International Criminal Court to cover the entire country, demands unfettered humanitarian access, and authorizes an international civilian protection force with the resources and mandate to accomplish its mission.

Congress also has an important role to play. First, the American people need to know the truth about Omar al-Bashir and his atrocities. This hearing is an important step in that direction and, again, I commend you for your leadership. American citizens have shown they care about the people of Sudan, but many are unaware of what is happening there now. Your help is needed to raise the alarm. Congress should also consider and pass legislation that would mandate increased United States sanctions and push the Administration to advance the policies I’ve laid out here today.

I know this is not as easy as it may sound. I know about all the distractions that Members of Congress face. I was serving in the House during the Rwandan genocide. I visited the graves of hundreds of thousands of victims when I visited Rwanda in July and asked myself – “Where was I?” Why did we do nothing to prevent or stop this horror?” Well, in retrospect, the political climate here in the U.S. was intense in 1994. There were fresh memories of Mogadishu, Somalia and “Black Hawk Down”. There was the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The economy was struggling and a heated election was looming. When you think about it, the political climate today is not at all dissimilar. But, the bottom line then is the bottom line now: We cannot stand quietly aside while genocidal monsters inflict unspeakable crimes against untold numbers of innocent people. The cost of doing nothing is too great. We must not look back years from now on this moment and think: “If only we had done something.”

We must have the courage to act now.

Thank you again for your time and for this opportunity. I look forward to answering your questions.

Cross-posted from the United to End Genocide Blog

STAND Camp Day Three!

STAND Camp Day Three

By Regional Organizer MJ Engel

After a night full of conversations that left many STAND campers up until the crack of dawn, day three began with a debriefing about Sudan and genocide prevention legislation with staff members of GI-NET/SDC. It was a time for everyone to get up to speed on what our national direction will be this year. After the debriefing, Advocacy Coordinator Maria Thomson and Programming Coordinator Cassie Wiegmann explained this year’s national campaign, which the MC hopes will act as a framework for chapters to work off of this upcoming year. Then, teams (all the colors of the rainbow plus SILVER!) broke off to discuss future tactics and strategies. One member from the silver team described one fundraising campaign in which STAND members sold duct tape pieces that students could buy and use to tape their school administrator to a wall. Could CCLs get any more creative?

During lunch, chapters met with their respective Regional Organizers to get to know each other and brainstorm ideas for future collaboration. At my table, chapters from Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine told stories about the highlights and lowlights from the past year, gave advice, and even started planning for a regional conference. Needless to say, STAND Camp has gotten everyone pumped up and super excited to get the year going.

The next presentations were on creative advocacy, how to make strategy charts, public speaking, and how to best use social media. STAND alums explained several innovative and effective ways to advocate creatively, and then CCLs got to work on their own strategy charts to plan their own campaigns. Afterwards, we got a crash course in public speaking, including how to pitch your organization by learning an “elevator speech.” An elevator speech is a 15-60 second pitch about what your organization is, what it needs, and what it wants, a very useful tool to leaders everywhere. Many STANDers in the audience had never spoken publicly before, so of course, at the end of the workshop, some of these people did for the first time. UpSTANDers also learned how to pitch their stories to newspapers, magazines, and other types of “old media,” while also keeping up with “new media” such as Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites. Everyone gathered around the campfire one last time to learn and discuss the recent event in Libya, and, of course, make delicious s’mores.

The highlight of the day by far was Team Silver’s team spirit performance. A member of the team composed a piece of slam poetry that the rest of the team did interpretative dance to. It was a powerful showcase of team spirit, collaboration, and beastliness. GO #TEAMSILVERNOTGRAY!

Check out Team Pink’s Group Skit below!