University students turn out for Darfur atrocity protest

New York event draws 73 peace activists from campus

By: Alice Lloyd George
   NEW YORK — Seventy-three Princeton students joined other peace activists Sunday afternoon for a global demonstration highlighting the immediate need for action in Darfur, where an estimated 400,000 people have already been killed and another 2.5 million forced to flee their homes.
   A crowd of 20,000 gathered in Central Park to hear politicians and lobbyists speak at the Save Darfur Coalition’s official rally. The western Sudanese region bordering Chad has been plagued by political and ethnic violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the Sudanese Government and Janjaweed militias.
   "(The people of Darfur) have had atrocities imposed upon them that no human being should ever have to suffer," said U.S. Rep. Christopher Smith (R-4). He described the rally as "a bold call for conscience, compassion and immediate and concrete action to stop the genocide."
   At a meeting in Cuba on Saturday, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir had reiterated his refusal to accept a United Nations resolution to deploy peacekeepers in Darfur. But former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, addressing the New York crowd, stressed the importance of intervention in the crisis.
   Princeton undergraduate Joey Cheek, a gold medalist at the 2006 Winter Olympics, also spoke at the rally.
   "We’ve become foot-soldiers in this. … We must act, we must act unambiguously, and we must act today," said Mr. Cheek. "We have the chance by one act to save someone’s life. There is nothing more noble."
   One of the key coordinators of the Princeton University trip, sophomore Robert Weiss, said he was pleased with the effort students made to come to the event.
   "Especially considered that this is going up against lawn parties, I’m impressed with the showing today," Mr. Weiss said. "It shows that a lot of students are interested in civic engagement, even with so much else going on."
   With Rwandan President Paul Kagame, a central figure in ending his country’s 1994 genocide, coming to the Princeton campus Thursday to deliver a lecture on Rwanda’s progress, students on the trip commented on what they described as the university’s increasing interest in political activism.
   Other students were also proud of Princeton’s contribution to the event, and expressed their hope for similar trips in the future.
   "It’s important for Princetonians to be in positions to defend those who can’t defend themselves," said sophomore William Wallace. "Really, it just shows that the stereotype of Princeton students not being politically aware is incorrect. Princeton is getting more engaged, not less. That’s for sure."