Efforts to stop genocide in Sudan are once again moving forward for a Penn student group.
After almost two years of little progress, Penn's chapter of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur is finally beginning to accomplish its goals, organizers say.
Group members have been out on Locust Walk in recent weeks and have collected more than 1,200 signatures on a petition asking the University to divest from companies with connections to the Sudanese government.
But University officials say they are not investing in any of the companies in question.
According to Penn Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli, "The truth of the matter is, we don't directly own [shares in] any of the companies they're asking about."
But STAND members say their efforts are meaningful regardless.
"We still have a goal, and that is to have the University commit to not invest in any of these companies in the future until the genocide stops," STAND divestment co-Chairman and College freshman Brad Rubin said.
Organizers are hopeful that the University will soon pass a resolution vowing to refrain from investing in companies tied to Sudan's government, which group members say perpetuates genocide.
The predominantly Arab Janjaweed militia, supported by the government of Sudan, is engaged in a conflict with non-Arab people living in and around Darfur, a region in western Sudan.
The United Nations estimates that more than 70,000 Sudanese have been killed, and a U.N. report called it "the worst human-rights situation in the world today."
Although Carnaroli said Penn has no direct ties to the companies in question, STAND members say their petitions -- which they plan to mail in this week -- will still carry weight.
"We want to flood their mailboxes and make them aware that this is an issue we want addressed," Rubin said.
The group has received support from others on campus.
The Graduate and Professional Student Association passed a resolution supporting the divestment campaign, Rubin said.
The issue was also discussed at last week's meeting of the University Council steering committee, which prepares topics for the council to discuss, and is on the agenda for the University Council meeting on May 2.
Rubin said he hopes the University Board of Trustees will review any resolution the UC, an advisory body, passes at the board's annual meeting in May.
STAND organizers also say increased media attention to the Darfur situation has helped their cause.
"There's been more of a movement nationally -- and even internationally -- to take action. [Secretary of State] Condoleezza Rice has been pushing for it, and President Bush has started to pick it up," STAND coordinator and Engineering junior Anna Mayergoyz said.
In February, Yale University President Richard Levin announced that the school would divest from several companies with Sudanese connections. Levin promised Yale would not invest in any such companies in the future.
Yale sophomore and STAND coordinator Eric Bloom said that he was happy to see his school react to student pressure but that it should have taken action earlier.
Like STAND members here at Penn, Bloom said he worked hard for signatures to convince administrators the issue was important.
"I was very happy to see this happen," Bloom said. But "it saddens me that it took two years for the [Yale] Corporation to say anything substantial about this."
Even if Penn's trustees pass the resolution STAND is pushing for, organizers say they will still have more to accomplish.
"We might possibly try to support charitable organizations on the ground in Sudan," Rubin said.
