| Organization Profile: Students
Advocating For Peace In Sudan
By Daniel Domaguin
Students Advocating for Peace in Sudan (SAPS) was recently chartered
as an official student organization. Here are responses to questions
from one of the founding members, Kehan DeSousa.
-What year are you? Myself, and the other two founders Matt Rumizen
and Sara Skivirsky,
are first-years. We had a lot of help from Ezra Temko, a junior.
-What are your reasons for starting the organization? We started the
organization because there was no similar one on campus, and we strongly
believe that the issue is important enough to warrant a separate group
outside the aegis of say, Amnesty International, simply because it is
so large that it requires complete focus. This is not to say that any
other struggle going on that Amnesty is addressing is unimportant, just
that we are in the unique position to really stop the genocide occurring
right now and to capitalize on the public interest that's now arising.
-What has the response been from the campus community? The response
has been surprisingly large, considering we're a new organization and
we got started pretty late. The first meeting had about 40 people, and
the second, a 'break-fast' on October 6th, had twenty-some, the majority
of whom actually fasted for at least part of the day. Our official advisor
is Eve Sandburg of the Politics Department, and she is ridiculously
knowledgeable about the situation and also about working with people
in a group setting.
-Have you made connections with other campus student organizations,
college offices or groups? Not yet, but we hope to eventually.
-What would you like people to know about the organization? We are trying
first to raise awareness about the issue, since many people don't know
what's going on, and we believe that if people know how many deaths,
how much abuse of women, etc, is occurring, they will get sincerely
upset and try and help. Of course, taking action to combat what's happening
is a really big part of what we want to do, and we're still brainstorming
as to what would bring in the most people. One important thing to remember,
especially after Hurricane Katrina, is that money is not the only way
to help, although of course it's crucial, so that if people don't have
the means to contribute aid now, there are other ways to help.
-Are there any events SAPS has planned/will be planning for this semester?We're
planning a brief (meaning 10-20 minutes) lecture by the current professor
of Middle Eastern politics, Suha Bulokbasi, the week of November the
eighth, a student-run teach-in sometime after that, and hopefully a
benefit at the Sco sometime in February. Also, we're planning on going
to the Oberlin high school and talking about genocide issues in a more
proactive effort to educate the community.
-How do you feel Oberlin students should mobilize and take action regarding
the occurrences in Sudan? They should join our organization. Any idea,
idealistic or impractical as they may sound now, are welcome. We're
starting smaller, minimal effort opportunities to take action, like
form letters to be sent to congressmen. We hope to screen a documentary
about the issue, and bring in some speakers (although we're not sure
who yet) and if students attended any of those or the teach-in we're
developing, that would be fantastic. It's hard to mobilize if you don't
feel passionate about an issue, and the only way to feel passionate
is to know about it.
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