2008 Woodie Awards
'We have so much power as a generation'
Student organization recognized for genocide awareness
Amy Saltzman
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: Mosaic
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After researching Darfur, Jampel became certain she wanted to raise awareness about genocide among students at the university. The STAND Web site simplifies the task of starting a new chapter by providing a quick link on its home page.
Jampel says people such as Scott Warren, the student director of STAND, were willing to help and walk her through any difficulties she encountered while starting the chapter.
Despite being on campus for one semester, the university chapter of STAND was recently awarded Chapter of the Month by the national STAND organization, selected from more than 700 chapters nationwide.
The university's chapter was the first chapter to ever receive the recognition, as the award was started in September.
"We had no idea it was coming," Jampel says. "I whipped out my cell phone and called the entire [executive] board. It was very, very exciting for us."
Junior Megan Dunn, the group's treasurer, had similar sentiments regarding the award.
"I felt like we actually got somewhere, that we were actually being recognized for the work we are doing," Dunn says.
Nick Gaw, the STAND regional outreach chair for the mid-Atlantic region, was responsible for nominating the chapter after recognizing the achievements it had made over such a short amount of time.
Sean Redding, media contact for the national organization, says what made the university chapter so unique was its ability to make things happen.
"It's good to see tangible goals, and then see them met so quickly," Redding says.
The group's diligence and hard work has also paid off in its outreach. Jampel notes the chapter's e-mail list numbers more than 400 and approximately 40 students show up at its weekly meetings.
Last semester, STAND hosted a candlelit vigil that drew approximately 100 students. This semester, the goals are bigger.
The group's main objective is to have the university and the state of Delaware divest in Sudan. Jampel defines divestment as "placing economic sanctions on companies whose economic involvement in Sudan directly funds the government-supported genocide occurring in Darfur."
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