According to Hillel President Chase Hogle '07, the students, six of whom are members of the Darfur Action Group and five of whom are members of Hillel, spent last Thursday through Sunday in the nation's capitol. On Friday, they participated in lobbying training along with approximately 500 to 600 students from other schools and went to the offices of their members of Congress to voice their support for a civilian protective force in Darfur.
The weekend also included a conference for student participants to teach them how to create groups dedicated to ending the genocide and stimulate grassroots activism.
Niral Shah '08, a member of the Darfur Action Group who traveled to Washington, D.C., saw the weekend as a great success.
"For those of us who have worked on the Darfur Action Group, it was kind of like watching your kid grow up," Shah said.
On Sunday, the group traveled to the National Mall to take part in "The Rally to Stop Genocide," organized by the Save Darfur Coalition. A number of prominent speakers took part in this event, including Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who will deliver Dartmouth's Commencement Address this June, actor George Clooney and Paul Rusesabagina, the man whose story was depicted in the film "Hotel Rwanda."
"If we care, the world will care," Obama said at the rally. "If we act, then the world will follow."
Organizers of the rally expected approximately 10,000 to 15,000 people to attend the event, according to the permit they filed. U.S. Park Police, in keeping with policy, did not provide an estimate of the actual number of participants.
"This is in fact the first genocide of the 21st century, but there is hope: all of you," Clooney said. "Every one of you speaking with one voice, every one of you."
The rally in Washington was one of several events planned nationwide this past weekend to raise public awareness of the genocide in Darfur and urge American intervention in the region.
Participants in the rally also brought 750,000 postcards addressed to President Bush urging him to support a stronger multinational force to intervene in Darfur. Several petitions are also available on the internet for interested parties to sign who could not attend the event in person.
The genocide in Darfur is a result of fighting between Arab militias and ethnic groups in Sudan. To date, at least 180,000 people have been killed in the region.
