WASHINGTON -The crowd was packed so tightly, it was impossible to see anything ahead but the green T-shirts that demanded “Stop Genocide in Sudan.” Neon posterboard signs, the upraised hands of the student protesters and the dome of the Capitol building stood out against the backdrop of the bright sky above.
Among the crowd of thousands, a group of 95 Northwestern students gathered toward the right of the stage at Sunday’s Washington, D.C., rally against genocide in Darfur, Sudan. Two buses full of students organized by the NU Darfur Action Coalition spent last weekend in the nation’s capital, lobbying on Capitol Hill, attending training sessions on maintaining activist groups and participating in the Save Darfur Coalition’s Rally to Stop Genocide on the National Mall.
Standing on the Mall, surrounded by the shouts of her NU classmates “responding in unison,” was a moment NUDAC president Susannah Cunningham said she would remember.
“It’s for something – it’s for a vision that they see,” the Communication senior said.
On a campus where many students bemoan a lack of political activism, the straightforward injustice of genocide seems to have spurred an outburst at NU.
“I would say that the average Northwestern student – generally knows what’s going on and has political opinions but just prefers not to be active about them,” said Ryan Erickson, a Weinberg freshman and NUDAC coordinator.
But with Darfur, the situation is different, Erickson and other students said.
“It’s just so blatantly wrong,” Erickson said. “You have to look at it. The evidence is there.”
Conflict between Arabic, allegedly government-backed Janjaweed militia, and black African rebels and civilians has left more than 180,000 dead and about 2 million homeless in Darfur, according to the Associated Press. The Genocide Intervention Network reported the number of dead could be as high as 400,000. The U.S. Congress declared the situation a genocide last July.
A LONG WAY FROM EVANSTON
NU sent more students than any other college or university to the lobbying and training sessions organized by Students Taking Action Now: Darfur. Most school’s delegations were composed of about 10 to 20 students, said Erin Mazursky, a Georgetown University student and STAND executive director.
The group left NU Thursday evening, sharing chartered buses with about 20 students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The 15-hour bus ride left the students groggy and disheveled, but it only took a couple of minutes for them to start getting ready when Cunningham announced they were running late. Standing at the front of the bus, she told the group they had only 20 minutes to dress and eat breakfast before their Congressional lobbying meetings.
The group mobbed the bathrooms of a Pennsylvania rest stop. Some of the girls used a Truckers’ Quiet Lounge to change into blouses, skirts and heels. By the time the buses crossed the Potomac River two hours later, the group was caffeinated and dressed in suits, discussing the U.S. government’s efforts in the Darfur crisis.
The lobbying meetings set students up with congressional offices from their home districts. As Athanasia Sawicz, a Communication freshman, waited in the security line at the Senate Hart Office Building, she said she would focus mostly on financial ways the U.S. can help Darfur.
“A lot of people think we’re here to send troops, and that’s not true,” she said.
Instead, students were encouraged to discuss proposed budget measures – $173 million in emergency funding for Darfur this year, and $700 million for 2007 – as well as legislature such as House Resolution 723, which calls for a stronger NATO presence in peacekeeping efforts.
“I’m not quite sure what to expect,” Sawicz said. “I really hope that it’ll be a pleasant meeting as opposed to playing hardball.”
TAKING ON CAPITOL HILL
They were armed with blue folders containing advice on the best way to approach a lobbying meeting. Students heading for their next appointments crossed paths between Senate and House office buildings.
“A lot of our representatives are saying, ‘We’re not hearing from people on this issue,'” said NUDAC coordinator Sam Schiller, a SESP freshman. “At least we’ve shown that we have the numbers to back it up, so if they don’t act, we can hold them accountable.”
