LAFAYETTE TODAY
Dance for Darfur
More than 200 students attended a campus dinner and ball that raised $2,430 for the Save Darfur Coalition. Part of United Against Hate Week, the semi-formal “Dance for Darfur” was the latest in a series of actions by students over two years to raise awareness of the genocide in Darfur, including participating in rallies, holding discussions, lobbying Congress, and organizing fundraisers.
“It illustrates how Lafayette students are willing to come together for issues concerning not just their local community but all humanity,” says Jillian Gaeta ’07, a leading activist. One of the most prominent campus undertakings protesting the Darfur violence was the result of the joint efforts of students, faculty, administrators, and trustees,
who formed an ad hoc committee in January 2006.
“The committee put in
place a framework so that in
the future, when issues of grave moral concern arise, there’s an official procedure in place where students can voice their concerns,” says Gaeta, who majored in international affairs and French and has been
accepted in Teach for America.
Last November, as part of the committee’s response, Lafayette issued a statement condemning the genocide.
“That’s a pretty big step for Lafayette, because not many other educational institutions have done that,” Gaeta says.
“But not to address it would
be a crime. Academic institutions are in a unique place to
highlight these issues.”
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