Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions:
- When will I hear if my registration is confirmed?
- Can I attend the conference if I am not a college or high school student?
- If I can't come early for the lobby day or Transition Rally on Friday, can I still attend the conference?
- I can't come to the conference, but I'm a student in DC and want to attend the lobby day or Transition Rally Can I come?
- What should I wear?
- Where is this conference and how do I get there?
- Where should I stay?
- I’m interested in carpooling or finding out if there are others from my school and/or area that are attending the conference. Can you connect me with other students?
- How much will it cost to attend?
- Will parking be available?
- How many students can we send from our chapter?
When will I hear if my registration is confirmed?
When you register on the website, you will receive an email confirming that we have received your registration. This does not mean your spot is confirmed! Because we anticipate a very large number of registrants, we can only confirm your spot at the conference once we have received your $50 registration fee online or by mail (for checks). Following our receipt of your registration fee, we will email you a confirmation that guarantees your space at the conference. STAND will only accept checks postmarked by or before Friday, October 24th. If you have any questions about payment, or if more than seven days have passed since you sent in your check and you still haven’t heard from us, please email info@standnow.org. Only students with confirmed registrations will be permitted to enter the conference.
Can I attend the conference if I am not a college or high school student?
Unfortunately, no – there is only enough room for high school and college students at our National Conference.
This year, however, our conference will be held in conjunction with the Save Darfur Coalition's adult activist conference. This is an incredible opportunity for the anti-genocide movement to come together as a whole and explore new ways to support each other's efforts. If you are an adult leader interested in this opportunity or a chaperone for STAND students, click here for free registration to the Save Darfur Coalition's adult activist conference.
If I can't come early for the lobby day or Transition Rally on Friday, can I still attend the conference?
Yes. We understand that many students cannot take off from school early to be in DC by Friday. However, we strongly encourage you to make every effort to do the most powerful thing you can for Darfur – talk to and educate your elected officials. Click here to learn about the Transition Team Rally and how to lobby your representatives.
I can't come to the conference, but I'm a student in DC and want to attend the lobby day or Transition Rally Can I come?
Yes! We strongly encourage DC-area students to join STAND at our Friday lobby day and Transition Rally. STAND will provide advocacy refresher courses on Friday morning so you are up-to-date with Darfur legislation and talking points. If you only plan on attending the lobby day, make sure to check the Friday box on the registration form. If you only attend the Friday rally and/or lobby training you will not have to pay a conference registration fee. More information on when and where the training will be held will be emailed to you closer to the conference date.
What should I wear?
For a lobbying appointment, please dress respectfully in business casual attire. Suits are not required for the conference, but recommended for meetings on Capitol Hill.
For the Transition Rally and conference, please dress comfortably. Wearing a STAND or Darfur-related t-shirt is recommended.
Where is this conference and how do I get there?
On Friday, lobby meetings will take place on Capitol Hill. The Transition Rally will take place in front of the Old Executive Office Building near the White House. More information will be provided closer to the conference date.
On Saturday and Sunday, the conference will take place at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel (480 L'Enfant Plaza, SW Washington, D.C. 20024). The hotel is located directly above the L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail station at the intersection of the Orange/Blue lines and the Green/Yellow lines. You can check out a map of the metros here: http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/systemmap.cfm.
Where should I stay?
College students have the option of having their housing arranged by STAND. College students who indicate on their registration form that would like to receive housing will be paired with a D.C. college student that has agreed to host STAND conference attendees for the weekend. Once assigned a student host, you are responsible for coordinating with that person on your arrival and departure times.
For high school students and those who would prefer to stay at a hotel, the most convenient place to get a room would be at the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel, where the conference is taking place. However, you can find a list of other hotels in the area HERE.
I’m interested in carpooling or finding out if there are others from my school and/or area that are attending the conference. Can you connect me with other students?
We would love to help connect you with students in your area that are attending the conference. We will be posting a STAND National Student Conference Facebook group soon, which you will be able to use to find others from your area. Use the group’s Discussion Board to meet these students. We recommend including your city and state in the subject line.
Since we are hosting our conference in conjunction with Save Darfur Coalition’s adult activist conference, we are also asking adult attendees to carpool with students from their area. There is a question on the STAND NSC registration form you can answer to find out if there are local Save Darfur Coalition conference attendees willing to drive students to the conference. Note: this does not guarantee you a ride to the conference. If a Save Darfur Coalition conference attendee in your area does offer to drive students, we will put you in direct contact with them so you can arrange a ride to the conference.
How much will it cost to attend?
The conference costs $50 dollars for student attendees. The registration fee covers breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, a t-shirt, and conference materials. Students are responsible for their own travel and dinners.
If you would like to attend the conference but can’t afford these costs, we encourage you to apply for funding from your school, campus groups, or other organizations. Click here for a list of fundraising tips. In addition, STAND has limited funding available for students with extreme financial need. If you are interested in applying for financial aid, please email info@standnow.org.
Will parking be available?
Street parking is available free of charge on the weekends, but is usually difficult to find downtown.
Other questions? Contact us at info@standnow.org.
How many students can we send from our chapter?
Since we only have a certain number of spots available for conference attendees, please send only 5 students from your chapter. If you're having trouble narrowing down to five students, try using this criteria:
- Students who haven't attended a STAND conference before
- Younger students
- Chapter officers
Keep in mind that students who come to the conference will come back to your chapter with lots of great information, materials and resources. Have them conduct a teach-in to inform your chapter of what they learned!
