The Arizona Daily Star

Published: 04.10.2008

CFHS students plan event on behalf of Darfur
By Alexis Blue
FOR THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR
If you go
What: Darfur peace march and benefit concert
When: Marchers will begin gathering at 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: El Presidio Park, 160 W. Alameda St.
A group of Catalina Foothills High School students will hold a march and benefit concert downtown Sunday to push for greater U.S. governmental support of United Nations peacekeeping efforts in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.
Members of the Tucson North chapter of STAND, Students Taking Action Now in Darfur, organized the rally to promote community awareness of the Darfur genocide and urge local politicians to make providing aid for peacekeeping efforts in the region a top priority, said STAND President Mickey Jackson.
"We've heard our leaders talk about how they're really committed to bringing peace in Darfur, but you look at what's happening there and it's hard to tell," said 17-year-old Jackson, a junior at Catalina Foothills.
More than 400,000 people have died and more than 2.5 million have been displaced since the conflict between the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Darfur began in early 2003, according to the national Save Darfur Coalition.
In January, the United Nations joined the African Union in its peacekeeping efforts, but the peacekeepers are lacking essential equipment, such as helicopters. Jackson said STAND wants to see the United States provide more assistance and will urge people attending Sunday's event to write to their members of Congress to ask for their support.
"We want to show our local elected officials that this is something that people in Tucson care about," Jackson said. "We feel that being Downtown and marching in front of the federal building, even if it is on a Sunday, will make that impact."
STAND, a non-school-sanctioned club, consists of about 10 core members, Jackson said.
The group hosted a youth-geared benefit concert for Darfur last year, which drew about 200 people and raised about $2,600, Jackson said. STAND decided to include a march this year for a more visible event to draw in the larger Tucson community, he said.
The march will begin around 1:30 p.m. at El Presidio Park downtown, and head along West Alameda Street, North Granada Avenue, West Congress Street and Church Avenue before returning to the park for the concert around 2:30 or 3 p.m., Jackson said.
Jackson said he hopes 500 people will attend. While the event is free, all donations, as well as money from STAND T-shirt sales, will go to the U.N. World Food Program's efforts to aid people on the ground in Darfur, he said.
Scheduled speakers at the event — sponsored in part by the Save Darfur Coalition, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the YWCA of Tucson — include a Sudanese refugee and a University of Arizona professor of African-American Studies, Jackson said.
Local bands Monterey, The Evergreen and Great Job will provide the musical entertainment.
Andy Parada, singer and guitarist for Great Job and a 2007 Catalina Foothills graduate, said he hopes the event will help bring greater awareness to the conflict in Darfur.
"People know about it, but I don't know if people really know how messed up it is," said Parada, 19.
STAND member Greer Mc-Kee, 16, said she knew little about Darfur until she attended STAND's benefit concert last year and decided to join the club.
"I thought, 'How could this happen?' and I wanted to do something to help," the sophomore said.
STAND member Erica Moulton, a 15-year-old sophomore, said the club is trying to educate an even younger crowd by reaching out to area middle schools.
Moulton said she has worked with Orange Grove Middle School, where her sister is a student, to organize a schoolwide Darfur walkathon April 24.
"It's extremely important to reach out to the younger generation. We're really proud of our club being a youth-led club," Moulton said.
STAND member Anna Rasmussen said young people who know about the situation in Darfur see it as something they can help change.
"The youth are realizing they can make a difference, and this is our time to do that," the 17-year-old junior said. "Even though we're just a small group of kids, essentially, we want people to realize the travesties that are going on."
Student groups from the University of Arizona, Empire High School in Vail, Sabino High School and Salpointe Catholic High School have also helped with Sunday's event, Jackson said.
If you go
What: Darfur peace march and benefit concert
When: Marchers will begin gathering at 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: El Presidio Park, 160 W. Alameda St.
● Alexis Blue is a freelance writer in Tucson.

All content copyright © 1999-2008 AzStarNet, Arizona Daily Star and its wire services and suppliers and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution, or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the expressed written consent of Arizona Daily Star or AzStarNet is prohibited.