Syracuse University’s Student Peace Action Network started a new chapter of Amnesty International, through which it is taking a stand against the genocide in Sudan.

The new SU chapter had its second meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Hall of Languages, where about 10 group members discussed their research on a divestment campaign they are planning and filled in new members on the situation in Darfur.

The group’s campaign, called ‘Sudan Divestment Campaign for Syracuse University,’ focuses on ‘changing what our university is funding,’ said Anna Hadingham, S.P.A.N. vice president and junior acting major.

‘We have run a number of campaigns in the past and have worked on a number of war issues, but there’s virtually nothing going on on this campus in terms of human rights,’ Hadingham said. ‘This is a timely opportunity to work on a global and local level. There is a big refugee population here in the Syracuse area.’

The group said SU has investments in a Chinese company called PetroChina, which is essentially funding the Sudanese government in exchange for oil.

‘Our goal is to get our school to stop investing money in a corrupt government that is participating in genocide,’ Hadingham said.

For the past couple of decades, there has been a lot of political unrest in the area, said Nicole Miller, a junior acting major.

‘The group in power is an extremist Muslim group, and basically what they are doing is ethnic cleansing of the Darfur region of southern Sudan,’ Miller said.

The group also discussed Darfur’s current state, where more than 300,000 people have been killed, and nearly 2 million people have been displaced.

‘The people of South Sudan are ethnically different. They have their own language, and many of them are Christians. It is based on identity,’ Hadingham said.

Paloma Veloz, a freshman newspaper and international relations major, heard about the new organization through an e-mail.

‘I want to know what I can do to help. This is an important issue,’ Veloz said. ‘Sometimes when there’s not a direct interest personally, or even in terms of the country, the media doesn’t recognize it. There is a general ignorance. When people know what’s going on, their interest will definitely increase.’

Hadingham said she doesn’t think SU students are ignorant, but that they need to be informed about genocide in Darfur. The media does not do a good job of making such human rights violations known.

‘We certainly don’t have an apathetic student body. If kids were informed, they would be appalled,’ Hadingham said.

Published on April 3, 2006 at 12:00 pm