CASA , STAND work to attract students to their causes
Members of the Coalition Against Sweatshop Abuses lined the entrance near the UMC bookstore dressed as “peace officers” handing out flyers of information on their newest endeavor–convincing Chancellor Bud Peterson to make a public appearance on the sweatshop issue at noon Dec. 13.
It was a busy day at the UMC on Nov. 15, as the building was host to not only to CASA’s “peace officers,” but also to Students Taking Action Now: Darfur.
>>For more information on CASA, visit www.casacolorado.org
>>More information on what Boulder is doing to help Darfur can be found at www.boulderfordarfur.com, and anyone interested in calling the White House can do so at either (202) 456-1414 or (202) 456-1111.
CASA has made efforts in the past, one of which was a hunger strike in spring of this year to convince CU to adopt a “designated suppliers program.” The program would require the university’s licensees (Nike, Reebok and Adidas) to produce a percentage of their products in sweat-free shops.
“We must think globally and act locally,” said CASA member and civil engineering graduate student Tim Hillman.
On the other side of the UMC, near the food court, student group STAND participated in the National Call-In Day for the Darfur Genocide in Sudan.
National Call-In Day is aimed at getting as many people from the United States to call both local and national politicians to convince the Sudanese government to accept peace-keeping forces in the Darfur region. The Darfur Genocide has been named the first genocide of the 21st century. Calls to politicians are accepted at any time, but the goal today is to overwhelm the phone lines with people calling to voice their opinions about the issue.
“(People in the UMC) have been showing a lot of interest,” said Ben Drexler, who works with various groups around Boulder to support the Darfur cause and has been working closely with STAND to raise awareness about the issue.
Drexler said he was encouraged about the amount of participation that could be predicted so far, judging from the amount of flyers that had been taken from the booth since opening in the morning.
