Advocacy Success
Students all over the country are contacting their elected officials urging them to take action to help stop the genocide in Darfur. Through writing letters and making phone calls, students are letting their government know that Darfur needs to be a priority. Here are just a few of their success stories.
If you would like to learn more about ways to become involved, or share your stories of student advocacy, please contact info@standnow.org.
- Inver Hills Community College, MN
"The first thing they asked is if we were the people who had called them 100 times a month ago, so they clearly remembered that we had done that and it had impacted them."- Washington University in St. Louis, MO
"When I mentioned that Stark had only earned a "B" on his Darfur Report Card, Joe Cazenave, the district director, told me to call the office whenever Darfur legislation was introduced so that Stark could co-sponsor each one and get a better grade. Our meeting went incredibly well; I'm excited to go back!" - Charlotte Hill, De Anza College, CA, reporting on a meeting with Congressman Pete Fortney Stark
"I really enjoyed meeting you all and I was so impressed by what you've accomplished. Thanks and best of luck. Looks like we weren't on H.Res.723, but we've been added now." - Reply from a legislative aid after meeting with STAND advocates
"We held a call-in day where people could call in to Kit Bond, the Missouri Senator and chair of the Foreign Appropriations Committee, send letters, sign a petition, find out more information, look at pictures, buy t-shirts, and chat. It went very well--we got over 80 letters signed and quite a few calls in."- Missouri State University, MO
"We had over fifty people make pledges to call. We sent over 100 letters to each of our Senators and our Representative. We raised $75 for Doctors without Borders by selling the Darfur poster that was featured in Business Wire for $1."
- Fordham University at Lincoln Center, NY
"We tabled at our campus and gave out free brownies to students who called their senators. Wellesley students made 56 phone calls to senators in MA, NY, CA, MN, IA, NJ, OR, TX, VA, and WA."- Wellesley College, MA
"Seventy two letters were signed and 13 calls were made to New York representatives that were listed with grades from B to D over a 5 hour slot of time where I sat in the Juilliard School Lobby."- The Juilliard School, NY
"We had one table at our Student Union, and we logged 68 calls to Senators, as well as sent 5 post cards, gained 10 new members for our organization, and started a petition for divestment on our campus. We also brought a lot of awareness to the issue and the organization, as many of our members were asked about the event throughout the day."- University of Arkansas, AR