Donation to Save Darfur

DAC has donated $75 to Save Darfur's campaign to raise awareness about China's arms shipments to Sudan.

Thanking Sheila Breeding--Chris Ah San

Raisa, who's been working with Sheila throughout the year, reminded me that we should thank her in some way before the end of the year. Let me know what you think about how we should do this. Thanks!

New Event Programming Committee Chair--Chris Ah San

I'm thinking about asking Tiffany Man to take the position since we need someone to serve as a liaison from the Mighty Mic Awareness Committee, the group organizing the Genocide Awareness Week (Tiffany would facilitate our work with their group). I already spoke with other EPC members who were either about to graduate or mentioned that they weren't sure they could take on the responsibility (since they practically just joined the committee). Tiffany has a lot of good experience, plus she is a second year which means she can provide continuity. Let me know what you think.

Proposed SoCal speaker series--Chris Ah San

I spoke with Michael Stimpfel today and he wants to set up a speaker series on African issues. The goal is to raise awareness about different humanitarian issues affecting conflict areas in Africa. We would be utilizing the resources of various non-profits, including the "Lost Boys" of Sudan.

We discussed the possibility of giving one event a test run this Spring Quarter. It might be too late to make it work, but Michael is going to see if we might get lucky (whether or not this works depends on the availability of different SoCal STAND chapters' resources).

The speaker series is likely to happen during Fall Quarter, and should I get the green light (which is likely) I will have to find someone serve as the UCLA STAND chapter rep to this project.

Genocide Awareness Week at UCLA--Chris Ah San

Mighty Mic's Outreach and Awareness committee will be programming this event that is set to take place week 9 of Spring Quarter. I've spoken with Rohan about coordinating the Advocacy Committee's work with the Mighty Mic event organizers to ensure that we shore up a lot of student support for taking action in Darfur during that week. DAC's name is what GAW is under on the BOD application knowing that DAC itself is not programming any huge events during Spring Quarter (if we do happen to put on any events, we still have CPC and CPC mini-fund available to us, as well as other grants for on-campus events). DAC was allocated $3196 for GAW.

Lost Boys of Sudan offer--Chris Ah San

Michael Stimpfel from Pasadena City College STAND has offered to bring two of the "Lost Boys" to UCLA. He thinks that hosting a presentation of theirs at PCC wouldn't be as effective and wanted to bring it to UCLA. The presentation would include, first, a screening of the "Lost Boys of Sudan" film and then the two "Lost Boys" would speak at the end. He hasn't given me a date and I'm waiting for an answer to my questions about possible costs that such an event would entail for DAC. Is this something everyone would be interested in?

DAC's Official meeting space and times options

Ackerman/Kerckhoff room reservation

Tuesdays 7-8:50pm 10th and Finals week in Kerckhoff 135

Tuesdays 9-11pm Weeks 1-9 in Ackerman 2410

Tuesdays 7-10pm Weeks 1-Finals in MS 5147

Unfortunately this is all we've got, so we're most likely stuck with a room with a lecture setting (unmovable desks).

-Chris Ah San

DAC and Jazz/Reggae Festival

Hello,
My name is Diana and I am the co-director of the Jazz/Reggae Festival Sustainability Committee for this year's festival. The theme is "a weekend of peace, love and music" and we are emphasizing sustainability by implementing certain measures into the festival(solar powered stage, recycling, biodegradable dishware) as well as featuring educational sections where guests can learn about sustainability, peace, and other issues. In keeping with this spirit, we are inviting environmental and social justie-related student groups to table alongside nonprofit organizations and educate students about your projects as well as perhaps recruit volunteers. The festival will take place May 25-26(Memorial Day weekend). Please let me know if your group would be interested in having a table and we will reserve it for you as well as send out further details. Space is limited, so please let me know ASAP. Feel free to call or email me with any questions. Thanks!

-- Diana Ionescudiionescu@gmail.com281-660-5701Social Justice AllianceEarth Day CoalitionJazz/Reggae Festival Sustainability CommitteeUCLA

First post...

Hello all,

This is Rohan Shamapant. I'm taking over for Beverly, so nice to meet you all.

I met with my committee (three other people) and discussed with them the new path DAC is going to take, especially the Letter Writing Committee (which I believe will now be known as Advocacy Committee). We are going to be working very closely with Anjana on the Lobbying Campaign. Our plan is to address pertinent issues that the lobbyists will be targeting congressmen for, and then getting a massive amount of signed letters for them to take along with them. I met with Anjana tonight and we decided on the following issues:
-Increasing humanitarian aid
-The no-fly zone
-The ceasefire
-UN helicopters
-House Res. 1011

The trip will hopefully take place 3rd week of Spring quarter on Thursday. In regards to getting the letters signed, Chris and I have been working on an "outreach" or "liaison" method to help us get MASSIVE numbers - that's what will really count. A full explanation of the method is in the attachment of this week's general e-mail. Please, please, PLEASE check it out and see if there is anyway you can help. It will have a huge impact, and I need to get it started somewhere. It is much appreciated.

We will begin working on the main letter during Spring Break, to be ready first day of Spring Quarter. No further updates.

Cheers,
Rohan.

Aid Still Required Campaign

Aid Still Required just became a new sponsored org for DAC. Check out their website and campaign for Darfur at AidStillRequired.org.

Beverly Fergusson, who is our contact from ASR, asked "her fellow Bruins" to help her blast her campaign's message out to UCLA students. I didn't promise anything concrete but just simply said that we'd do all we could to help, and she appreciates whatever contribution we can make to the campaign. Her campaign is working closely with celebrities and thus has a target audience of young people, which is why she's reached out to DAC (a club she remembers from her days at UCLA!).

Basically the idea for us is to reach out to students through online networking (Facebook and whatever else). There's a video of Kobe Bryant speaking out for Darfur that I've posted in my Facebook status, and I encourage you all to do the same! And so, as you might have guessed, that's the video she wants us to "blast out" to our friends and fellow Bruins.

If you all have any ideas as to what we can do to help ASR our any other relevant discussion for that matter, post here! Thanks!

-Chris Ah San

focus on advocacy

sorry, this is re-posted because there was a confusing typo in the last blog:

with our on-campus efforts focused on advocacy (letter writing and lobbying) next quarter (excluding the things mighty mic needs us to do), will this provide a strong enough direction for DAC? will this help prevent the problem of having our resources overstretched?

focus on advocacy

with out on-campus efforts focused on advocacy (letter writing and lobbying) next quarter (excluding the things mighty mic needs us to do), will this provide a strong enough direction for DAC? will this help prevent the problem of having our resources overstretched?

membership meeting suggestions

hey board-
i appreciate all the suggestions you gave me tonight regarding the membership meeting experience. would you all say it's a good idea to cut out something like introductions in the future?

also, i'm happy to take suggestions regarding the meeting room if we don't end up getting the meeting room of our dreams next quarter. the only problem is that i can't guarantee sheila will be able to let us reserve a "roundtable room" whenever we want since her secretary recently told me explicitly that that was "against CSP policy". basically, when we do get a room there, there are no guarantees that we can keep it since sheila can't officially loan out rooms to us directly.

let me know what you think!

further updates from rwanda coalition - stui

We would like to plan a trip up to San Francisco on Wednesday, April 9th, to protest against the Beijing Olympics. We do not yet know the details of this rally. But keep it on your calendars!

Also, USC is holding a mini week of awareness between April 14 and 18. This will culminate in a concert to be held on the 18th. The concert features Manzi Kalisi (Daddy Cassanova) and Amie Leogrand (Lion Eye), two Rwandan music artists who sing about the genocide in Darfur. We want to do what we can to help them promote that concert. We consider it a part of a greater project to launch an MTV concert series in refugee camps throughout Africa. Regardless of the fate of that project, this concert at USC is, nevertheless, an potentially big idea of theirs we want to help promote.

rwanda coalition - stui

we had a meeting with USC's stand chapter yesterday, and i'm so glad to hear that so many of you are pumped! i will formally announce the project to the rest of the DAC tomorrow evening, but i thought i'd give you all a heads up.

we are planning a trip to rwanda :)

several ideas are floating around, but one of the more exciting one's is the possibility of attending "Ingando" which is taken from the Kinyarwanda verb "kugandika," meaning a halting of normal activities to reflect. Ingando is a national program run by the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) through which perpetrators and survivors of the genocide come together to learn about the history of their country, political and socioeconomic issues in Rwanda and the greater continent of Africa, as well as their individual rights, obligations and duties. 

we have a number of partners in Rwanda, thanks to the coalition-building of Kathy and USC students who visited Rwanda this winter break. through Ibuka, we have come to enlist the help of Prime Minister, Bernard Makuza. we, have truly become an "International Student Coalition Against Genocidal Indifference" with the addition of student genocide organization, Association des Etudiants Réscapes du Génocide (AERG).

in regard to what we will do while we are there, we are discussing those options. i think that for those of us in DAC who want to go on this trip, it doesn't quite matter what we will do there, because simply being there promises unique opportunities for us to be a part of rebuilding post-genocide Rwanda. however, with regard to the idea of bringing in the greater UCLA community (school of film & television, school of law, school of business, department of psychology, etc.), we must lay more solid groundwork. 

for those of you interested in getting involved, please email me at rwanda.dac@gmail.com

we need help!

updates:

• Anjana has scheduled a meeting with the manage of O'Hara's (the bar formerly known as "Maloney's). we are trying to work out a special event where we will get a percentage of the profits for a given night. 
  
• Dodo is going to write a viewpoint for the daily bruin about this trip, and to publicize the event by lavishing O'Hara's with praise for taking action against the genocide. 
  
• Anjana, Dodo, and myself will pitch the idea to O'Hara's
  
• I (stuart) have spoken with Sheila Breeding who has given me the contacts of several people experienced with planning these sort of travel programs. we're gonna need legal counsel with regard to protecting ourselves from liability. we'll need as much of this figured out before even thinking of recruiting UCLA students to join us on the trip. 

If you would like to help, there is help to be had! Please let me know if you're interested in helping/joining us on the trip. 

finance chair - stui

the shirts are in!!! please solicit your social-justice impassioned friends!!! we're selling them for $16-$20. Please tell people that! It actually is effective in 1) making $16 not seem like too much and 2) causing some of them to pop you an andrew jackson without a second thought "keep the change!"

we also have candy to sell!!!

at first i thought, we'd save it for next quarter, seeing as how we're all so busy with finals, but then i realized, this is the perfect time to fatten people up with candy! so if any of your dormers are up to it, i'd like to give you candy to sell. they actually are selling a lot easier than i thought. i brought them to a kkpsi meeting, and i sold the entire box! we have about four more boxes to sell. we have chocolate bars, airheads, gummibears, skittles, and starbursts. everything is a dollar each, but airheads and gummibears are 50cents each. 

if anyone wants to order a shirt, have them email: merchandise.dac@gmail.com