STAND Hunger Banquet for Darfur May 5, 2005

The Carleton College chapter of the student organization Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) will put on a series of events designed to raise awareness of the genocide taking place in Sudan?s war-torn Darfur region, as well as raise funds to donate to aid organizations. The events will begin with a Hunger Banquet on Wednesday, May 11, at 6 p.m. in Carleton?s Evans Dining Hall. The group will sponsor a panel discussion about the genocide on Thursday, May 12, at 3:30 p.m. in Leighton Hall, Room 305, and they will host a benefit concert on Friday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the College?s Skinner Memorial Chapel. All the events are free and open to the public, although donations are encouraged.

The Hunger Banquet is designed to give attendees an idea of the conditions at refugee camps in Darfur, where by some estimates nearly 250,000 people have died of malnutrition or disease. In order to simulate the actual situation, STAND will serve the guests only small portions of rice and bread, and a slideshow presentation will show photos from the region. The May 12 panel will be made up primarily of Carleton faculty, and will include Roy Grow, Frank B. Kellogg professor of international relations, Jay Levi, associate professor of anthropology and director of Latin American studies, Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, associate professor of anthropology, and associate chaplain Shoshana Dworsky. The concert will feature a diverse range of student performing groups, including a cappella singing and the Whoa! and Semaphore dance ensembles. There will be a $5 suggested donation at the door of this event.

STAND is a student-run organization with chapters in colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada. Their aim is to raise awareness of, take political action on and raise funds for the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Carleton chapter was formed this year with the aim of sponsoring events on campus to contribute to these goals. They will donate any funds they raise to the Save Darfur Coalition, which is comprised of faith-based, humanitarian and human rights organizations, and Doctors Without Borders, an organization that provides medical attention and other aid to refugees in the region.

For Hunger Banquet reservations, please call (507) 646-4801. For more information, please call (507) 646-4610 or (507) 646-5084.