Close to 1,000 Georgetown Students are participating in today’s DarfurFast, according to Students Taking Action Now: Darfur Executive Director Erin Mazursky (SFS ‘07).
“Some people are fasting all day in solidarity and some are just giving up a luxury item,” Mazursky said.
The fast, which will occur simultaneously at 300 universities across the world, is intended to raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur and the fact that humanitarian aid is not getting through to refugee camps, according to Mazursky.
On campus, STAND will hold a die-in at 1 p.m. and an Interfaith Vigil at 7:30 p.m., both in Red Square. Georgetown students also collaborated with George Washington University and Howard University students to organize an event at the Levi’s Store on M Street, with clothing discounts as well as free music and food.
“Student activism has sort of driven Darfur activism around the country,” Mazursky said. “It has definitely driven policymakers.” She cited the appointment of Georgetown professor Andrew Natsios as a U.N. Special Envoy to Darfur and California’s recent $350 billion divestment from Sudan as examples of policy changes that have grown out of student activism.
by Anna Bank
The Department of Public Safety released its annual campus safety report on Monday. The document includes the crime statistics for 2005.
According to the report, most crimes on the main campus and in campus residences decreased from 2004 to 2005, with burglaries down from 39 to 26 and forcible sexual assaults down from 18 to 4. Thefts also fell, dropping from 261 to 243 for the campus, though thefts in the dormitories rose from 48 to 55, the second rise in two years.
The report includes DPS procedures for reporting burglaries, fights and sexual assaults, as well as tips for students. Students are reminded to lock their doors, stay in well-lit areas and not to accept ‘special drinks’ at parties.
by Michael J. Bruns
