Ben Schneider | Adopt a forgotten cause

Do you remember those rubber green bracelets?

They cost about $10, and they were imprinted with the message “Not on our Watch — Save Darfur.” The proceeds from the bracelets went to avert the humanitarian crisis developing in this western region of Sudan in 2003.

These bracelets were ubiquitous in my high school when the Save Darfur movement gained national attention, around 2006. Celebrities such as George Clooney, Bono and Mia Farrow visited the region and inspired education about the conflict. Rallies were held, thousands called the White House to demand action and President George W. Bush declared the situation a genocide.

The Republic of South Sudan became the world’s newest nation on Saturday, but at this pivotal moment it’s worth noting that the conflict in Darfur — in a different part of the same country — is not over. Atrocities in the south that were contemporaneous with atrocities in the west have now come to some resolution, but Darfur has all but faded from public consciousness. The International Criminal Court has indicted Sudan’s president for his alleged war crimes, but he still attended Saturday’s independence ceremony as a free man. A peace treaty is set to be signed Thursday, but only one of two rebel groups still fighting in Darfur has agreed to sign. Meanwhile, refugees still struggle to access basic goods and services.

The conflict in Darfur has mellowed, but it hasn’t ended — and the fading advocacy for Darfur shows a characteristic of any movement. Causes lose momentum as they move toward resolution. The initial outrage when one hears about a subjugated group inspires action. There are petitions to sign, donations to solicit and people to educate. As work is done, the issues become more complex, and the $10 donation becomes a lot less valuable in comparison with the devotion of an inquiring mind.

Many organizations at Penn ask us to direct our attention to one cause for a year, a month or a week, only to abruptly shift our focus away. Last year the Provost’s Office declared a “Year of Water.” To the University’s credit, events occurred all year that focused on ecology, sustainability and access to this most important natural resource. Select groups have formed a meaningful connection to the issue, such as rising College junior Brittany Young’s Spring of Hope charity. But Young started her charity in 2005, and I’ll bet that her interest in the cause of access to water will not end with the end of the theme year.

The point is that most of Penn’s 10,000 undergraduates did not gain an understanding of the cause, and by moving on to a different theme in September we have wasted much human capital.

Penn students are always starting things — new clubs, new initiatives, new charities, new publications. That’s what happens when you gather this many entrepreneurial and controlling people together on one campus. But only so many causes can be supported before what is needed is not a “Founder/CEO” but rather an “Active Participant.” Enacting social justice requires a good leader, but the real work falls on those who believe in that leader’s vision.

We, as students, are facing a huge lack of focus in our advocacy efforts. In social action, more variety leads to decreased effectiveness. The community organizing approach is the right one: get a group of people together, talk to them about the issues they care about and then pick one issue at a time to throw collective effort against. A group called POWER — Philadelphians Organizing to Witness, Empower and Rebuild — is doing just that. This coalition of the members of Philadelphia-area faith organizations is currently researching different problems in the area, and once they have a good understanding of five or so issues they will pick one to collectively focus on. Not, “focus on for the coming year,” mind you, but focus on until the issue is resolved.

Finishing what you start is not only beneficial to those who you aim to help — it also leads to a more satisfying experience. The Penn community may never unite behind one global issue and follow it through to resolution, but there is a simple way to reverse the trend toward forgotten causes and fading advocacy. If you’re looking to get involved in social justice — and you should — search out your options and find something old to join before you try to start something new.

Ben Schneider is a rising College junior and a Daily Pennsylvanian copy editor from West Hartford, Conn. His email address is bensc@sas.upenn.edu.

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