This Week in Genocide
Western Washington University’s chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition is hosting a week of action and awareness on WWU’s campus. This Week in Genocide includes at least one fun, educational activity on each day in the week of May 26th. Students as well as the general public are invited to any and all of these events! Each event is either free or has a minimal required donation to worthy causes.
On Tuesday, May 26th, STAND is hosting a free showing of The Greatest Silence, and film documenting the violence against women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This will take place in Academic West room 204 at 7 PM.
Wednesday is the first of three consecutive days in which Camp Darfur will be set up on the Humanities building’s lawn. Camp Darfur is an interactive education tool which provides information about historical and current genocides by setting up a miniature refugee camp. The tents we use will be donated to an actual refugee camp in Darfur, Sudan.
Special guest Carl Wilkens will speak in Academic West 204 Wednesday night at 7 PM. He was one of the few Americans who stayed in Rwanda during its 1994 genocide, and he will discuss his first hand experience of genocide. Afterward, there will be a showing of Hotel Rwanda in the same room. These events are free and open to the public.
Thursday night there will be a genocide discussion panel. Jen Marlowe, one of the makers of Darfur Diaries, will join Western Washington University faculty Dr. Kathleen Young and Dr. Ray Wolpow in discussing genocide, its causes and ways normal people can help stop it. Ms. Marlowe will also show clips from her new documentary about South Sudan. Free, 7 PM, Academic West 204.
Friday is the last day to visit Camp Darfur! That evening, at 7 PM, STAND is hosting Burma Comedy Night, featuring local comedians Jim Allan, Paul Beeman, and the sketch comedy group Dead Parrots Society. For $3 at the door of the Viking Union Multipurpose Room, everyone can enjoy a night of laughs while helping the villagers in Eastern Burma who are being terrorized by their own government.
This Week in Genocide closes with the 5k Fun Run for Women in Congo on Saturday, May 30th. Runners and walkers can register on the Associated Students Bookstore website and in person 8:30-9:30 AM the day of the race on the Performing Arts Center plaza. Registration fee is $10 for students/alumni and $15 for the general public. Proceeds will be donated by WWU STAND to Women for Women International’s Congo program, which helps victims of violence rebuild their lives. The race begins at 10 AM, and there will be refreshments and prizes afterward.
