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Students will have the opportunity to learn more about awareness groups on campus while participating in fun activities at the activist picnic 3-7 p.m. Thursday, April 19 on the Quad.
Participating campus organizations will include Students for Social Justice (SSJ), Association of Lafayette Feminists (ALF), Amnesty International, Lafayette Environmental Awareness and Protection (LEAP), Engineers Without Borders (EWB), and Questioning Established Sexual Taboos (QuEST).
“[We] hope to raise awareness of these organizations and the different things each of them does,” says event coordinator Katie Thompson ’09 (Glenside, Pa.), president of ALF. “I also hope the event will cause more students on campus to express interest in activism. Knowing more about the people who are already on campus and the things we already do will hopefully encourage those who attend to be more active themselves.”
Helping Thompson organize the picnic are English major Abra Berkowitz ’09 (Sharon, Mass.), international affairs major Daniela Ochoa Diaz ’08 (Davie, Fla.), Christopher Haight ’10 (Rochester, N.Y.), and biochemistry major Matthew Pagano ’09 (Branchburg, N.J.).
Each participating organization will have a table with information and contribute at least one activity. Scheduled activities include candle making with Amnesty International, hemp necklaces and tie dye with LEAP, bumper stickers and protest signs with SSJ, and a Twister competition and “this is what a feminist looks like” photo campaign with ALF. There will be free refreshments, and Lafayette’s radio station WJRH will provide music.
“My hope is that students are interested in the activism that already occurs on campus,” says Thompson, an American studies major. “These organizations are all examples of students who get together to express opinions and take action.”
Students for Social Justice took the lead in organizing the College’s recent Peace Conference, contributed to United Against Hate Week, and has brought speakers to campus for discussions on human rights issues.
Each year, ALF spearheads the Take Back the Night event to educate the campus community about rape, sexual assault, and violence against women. This past fall, events included an open mic night, speakers, panel discussions on sexual assault, self defense classes, and candlelight vigils on campus. The group also helped sponsor Women’s History Month events and Phenomenal Women’s Week.
Lafayette’s chapter of Amnesty International was founded in 2006 and participates in advocacy and educational campaigns to protect human rights. Past events have included bringing four experts to campus to speak on the violence and genocide in Darfur, sending students to rallies in Washington, D.C. and New York City against the violence in Darfur, and letter writing campaigns to elected officials addressing human rights issues.
At the end of last semester, LEAP sponsored a book drive, where students dropped off used textbooks to be donated to aid education in Africa. In conjunction with the Williams Center gallery’s On Ice exhibit, the group held screenings of An Inconvenient Truth and Baked Alaska followed by discussions on global warming. Other LEAP activities include recycling advocacy, peer education on environmental issues, and volunteering for causes related to the environment. The group also promotes appreciation of nature through outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and canoeing.
EWB has garnered national attention for its program to bring safe drinking water to the remote villages of La Fortuna and Lagunitas in the Yoro district of central Honduras. The project won a $75,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability. Several students also presented the group’s Honduras project at an international conference in Brazil. EWB most recently received a $10,000 grant from Kathryn Wasserman Davis 100 Projects for Peace to start up a new project in Honduras.
Among the campus wide activities QuEST has sponsored this school year was the successful “Gay? Fine By Me” t-shirt campaign, which drew more than 300 students and faculty in celebration of tolerance and understanding. A total of 650 shirts were distributed to the campus community. It also organized the third annual Drag Ball, in which participants danced the night away dressed in clothes of the opposite gender. Other events include the annual day of silence, coming out day, and United Against Hate Week. QuEST also organizes Lafayette’s Safe Zone program.