UST Genocide Intervention Network students attend Berkeley conference
Six St. Thomas student board members attended a regional conference about genocide held at the University of California at Berkeley in February. The purpose was to learn more about organizing communities for education, advocacy for legislation to stop or prevent genocide and fund raising to increase security and humanitarian aid for people at risk.
Megan Bellin, Jill Englund, Sarah Hogan, Mara Hughes, Ben Nebo and Heather Schommer attended workshops and sessions presented by national leaders on issues involving the current genocide in Darfur. They learned more about targeted divestment, raising public awareness through special events, and strategies to engage legislators in taking an active stand against genocide.
Their trip, funded by the All College Council, was valuable because they are involved in planning a conference, "Fighting Back: Organizing the Anti-Genocide Constituency," to be held April 14 at St. Thomas.
For more information about the conference and to register, visit the Minnesota Genocide Intervention Network conference Web site.
To learn about the St. Thomas GI-Net chapter, contact president Jenny Le, and for information about the state chapter, contact Dr. Ellen Kennedy. You can visit the state Web site and the national site online.
