More than 400,000 people have died in genocide in the Sudanese Darfur region. The violence between Arab Muslims and black Muslims has displaced another 2.5 million from their homes, forcing them to go without food, water or shelter for months.
Northwestern University Darfur Action Coalition is going to try to do something about it.
NUDAC will send 95 students to the Washington, D.C., “Save Darfur: Rally to Stop Genocide” this weekend, according to Communication senior Susannah Cunningham, one of the organization’s coordinators.
NU students will travel with about 20 others from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The rally, which will take place in front of the Capitol building on April 30, will feature speakers such as U.S. Senator Barack Obama, actor George Clooney and Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.
Cunningham said NUDAC had initially reserved one bus, but many students signed up on a waiting list and a second bus was added.
“The (Darfur) cause has this growing momentum,” she said. “There’s an awareness about what’s going on and frustration that another genocide is going on when we hear in class about how it is not supposed to happen again.”
Cunningham said there were three NU students and two professors who wanted to go to the rally but were unable to attend. Instead, they paid for others to go in their place. Cunningham said this shows the extent of the NU community’s dedication.
“There are times you can get frustrated when things don’t happen exactly as you’ve planned,” she said. “But in this case, there’s no question that Northwestern has led the call to action.”
Emily Kintzer, a SESP senior, has helped organize the rally since she joined NUDAC at the end of Winter Quarter. She said more than 800 college students are expected to attend, but added that NU’s coalition is the biggest.
“We are so overwhelmed by the response and so excited that so many people want to participate,” Kintzer said. “NU students are very aware of what’s going on in the world. People know the genocide is going on, and this is an opportunity for them to do something about it.”
Kintzer said she hopes people will continue to show interest in helping Darfur after they hear about the rally.
“We hope people will be inspired to work with NUDAC,” she said. “(The rally) is definitely a big part of what we’ve accomplished this year, but there are still a lot of ways to help out.”
A Darfur rally also will take place on May 1 at 4:30 p.m. at the Federal Plaza in downtown Chicago.
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