News Archive: October 2005
October 3
October 17
October 24
October 31
*Fair Trade Chocolate Extravaganza
Thanks to all who helped out, performed, and/or came to support it:
-we got around 250 signatures for the petition to introduce more fair trade products into Brown dining halls and around 300 e-mails sent to Nestle to encourage them to sell fairly traded chocolate!
-we plan to hold a similar event for Valentine's Day along with a speaker from an actual fair trade cooperative.
*URGENT: Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week
***WE NEED VOLUNTEERS TO STAFF A TABLE IN THE POST OFFICE NEXT WEEK***
We will have sign-up sheets for the Meal Credit Donation on Thursday, 11/17, the Hunger Banquet, and a 30-hr fast on Thursday, 11/17. The main goal is to get people to sign up to donate their meal credits (and/or money); we need to present a list to Brown Dining Services by Friday, 11/11. We have decided to donate the proceeds from the Meal Credit Donation and the fast to Oxfam's relief efforts in relation to the earthquake in South Asia. For more information, check out http://www.oxfamamerica.org
Times needed:
Monday, 11/7 (CRUCIAL!!! Please fill in this spot if you can!!!)
12-1
Tuesday, 11/8
10-11
12-1
1-2
Wednesday, 11/9
10-11
11-12
12-1
Thursday, 11/10
10-11
If you can staff a time slot, please e-mail me (Hope_Turner@brown.edu). If interested in taking a more active role in helping out with Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, contact
Heather_Vail@brown.edu or Stella_Klemperer@brown.edu
------------------------------
Other Opportunities:
*The Darfur Action Network's campaign:
Want to save the world in less than five minutes?
The genocide in Darfur, Sudan is worsening every day, and the United States refuses to act to better the situation. According to U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres, "Everything is getting out of control. We are close to a moment in which a new major tragedy might occur in Darfur." While 400,000 people have already died, many more are in extreme danger. Despite this, our Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee has not co-sponsored the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, a valuable piece of legislation calling for more drastic action in Darfur, and acknowledging that the United States still cares about the situation.
The Darfur Action Network is launching a lobbying project to encourage Senator Chafee to support this bill, and we need you. Using the talking points below, please whip off a quick email to Senator Chafee's legislative assistant urging action. Unlike other action items, this IS going to an actual staffer, so it WILL be read and it will only take you five minutes. If you have any questions, please email: darfurbrown@gmail.com.
Send the email to: Allison_sugarman@ chafee.senate.gov and address it to Ms. Sugarman. Please also remember to BCC at: Darfurbrown@gmail.com so that we can keep track of the emails.
Talking Points:
- Civilian protection is urgently needed in Darfur. Security is worsening, and a recent surge in violence make it imperative that Congress acts now to save lives.
- Congress has been crucial towards pressuring the administration to respond to the genocide, but has not acted on legislation helping the goal of peace. The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (S 1462) could do this.
- The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act has strong bipartisan support. Its goal is to strengthen the AU mission to protect civilians, impose sanctions on individuals responsible for atrocities in Darfur, and support peace negotiations.
- As humans, we have an obligation to do all we can to end this mass suffering and killing. All Senator Chafee needs to do is cosponsor this bill to help save lives.
Add personal messages if you want to, and structure this the way you think it will be most efficient. Again, this email will not take much time, and will make a huge difference. Please remember to BCC darfurbrown@gmail.com
*Winter Breaks Projects:
Are you so busy during the semester that you don't have time to get involved in the service or activism that is being done on campus and in Providence?
Are there issues of social justice and community development that you want to learn more about?
Do you want to put the knowledge and perspectives that you've learned in your classes into practice outside of the bubble of College Hill?
Winter Breaks Projects are a chance to do all of this:
You can spend your winter break making change
Participate in the Winter Breaks Projects sponsored by the Swearer Center for Public Service. The Winter Breaks Projects will run from Sunday, January 15 to Saturday, January 21.
Winter Breaks Projects are weeklong, investigation-based projects designed to immerse students in the rich world of activism, service, policy, advocacy and organizing that exists in Providence. Students live communally and work in small teams that explore a specific issue. The areas of investigation this winter:
. Public Education
. Immigrant Rights in RI
. Food Security
. Lead Exposure
. The Politics of Homelessness
. Affordable Housing
This immersion experience might include a combination of direct service, organizing, political advocacy, meetings with organizers and activists, conversations and collective work with people affected by the issue. Investigatory teams will also engage in a research or public education project of their own design. In the evenings, the teams come back together for reflective conversations often with guest speakers.
Cost for the Winter Breaks Project is $75. Financial Aid is available.
Information sessions will be held November 1 at 8 PM and
November 2 at 6 Pm at the Swearer Center for Public Service, 25 George Street.
For more information, please contact
Rachel_Lauter@brown.EDU
Lindsey_Gaydos@brown.EDU
Our meeting last minute focused mainly on this weekend's Fair Trade Chocolate Extravaganza.
1. PUBLICITY
- If you are interested in helping to make the banners for Faunce and Wayland Arch, it will be taking place on Wednesday (tomorrow) afternoon. Contact Nicole_Summers@brown.edu for further information.
- If you signed up for a tableslipping shift, DON'T FORGET! Christina will be e-mailing reminders to everyone. The tableslips will be available in the Oxfam mailbox in the Student Activities Office (across from the Upper Blue Room) starting today (around now).
- Tell your friends about this event! Feel free to send it out to listservs that you belong to as well. Here's a short blurb so you can copy/paste:
Love chocolate? Need a study break? Want to support fair trade practices? Then come to the Chocolate Extravaganza, Sunday, Oct. 30 from 8 P.M.-12 A.M. in the Hourglass Cafe. The event is free of monetary cost and will feature live entertainment all night long! All you need to do is send an email to Nestle Co. and demand that they use fair trade practices. Go to www.brown.edu/Students/Oxfam
2. COOKING
Anyone is more than welcome to help make chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, cookies, and more, this Sunday before the event. We will be using the kitchens in MINDEN and FINLANDIA (both on Waterman St. just off of Thayer). E-mail your friends--baking is FUN!!! We will be cooking for 12-6 in three shifts of two hours. Here are the shifts for those who signed up. If you can't make your shift, please e-mail Christina_Ma@brown.edu and try to come to a different shift.
12 P.M.-2 P.M.
Cristina Celis
Akriti Bhambi
Daniela Alvarado
Ye Ye Zhang
Nicole Summers
2 P.M.-4 P.M.
Hope Turner
Daliso Leslie
Jon Bogard
Christina Ma
Jessica Bloome
Thane Richard
Madeleine Anderson
4 P.M.-6 P.M.
Daniela Aramayo
Mackensie Shults
Scott Rasmossen
Samantha Riley
Anne Friedman
Irene Chen
For those who didn't sign up, you can join any of the above shifts (and you are not limited to the two-hour time frame--cooking for all six hours is highly encouraged :) ). Once again, bring friends! We have a lot of baking to do...
3. SET-UP (7:00 P.M.)
Here's the list of those who signed up to help set up:
Hope Turner
Ye Ye Zhang
Nicole Summers
Jon Bogard
Christina Ma
Akriti Bhambi
Thane Richard
Yu Kan Au
Daniela Aramayo
If you can come set up, but didn't sign up, come anyway!
Also, if you are available to help clean up the event after 12:00 A.M., please do.
4. EVENTS
We will have three a capella groups, a hip hop duo, and a couple of soloist performers--quality entertainment for all four hours! If you are interested in emceeing the event, e-mail Christina_Ma@brown.edu.
UPCOMING EVENTS, Oxfam and otherwise:
1. On Sunday, November 13th we will have the Hunger Banquet in Petterutti Lounge (Faunce House). We will have a panel of speakers on hunger and homelessness here in Rhode Island.
2. TOMORROW, in the Upper Blue Room from 5-7 P.M. the GISP on social commodities will be discussing Fair Trade coffee. They would like some Oxfam members to attend to provide their knowledge and to contribute to the discussion. If you can/would like to go, please do!
3. Help keep a child alive! Click on the following link to see how you, your friends, and/or your family can contribute money for AIDS medicine to keep victims alive. It costs less than a dollar a day, but few families can afford it. Go here to donate: https://secure.ga3.org/01/kca
4. Common Ground: Justice and Equality in Palestine/Israel will be showing BATTLE OF ALGIERS this THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27 at 8 PM in MACMILLAN 117.
Battle of Algiers is a gripping documentary which concerns the struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France. It was banned in France upon its first release (1966), and upon its recent re-release has been viewed by many as intensely relevant to the War on Terror and to the plight of national liberation movements. It is rumored that the film has been mandatory viewing for members of the US Defense department because of its relevance to the War in Iraq. Please come and see this important film!
(For a link to the trailer, visit)
http://www.apple.com/trailers
5. Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) at Brown presents…
Who: RAMI G. KHOURI, editor at large of the internationally acclaimed Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon)
Topic: "Democracy and the Road to Peace in the Middle East"
Where: Joukowski Forum, Watson Institute
When: Friday, Oct 28th. 3pm
Mr. Khouri's visit is second in Brown AID’s series of high-profile Lebanese journalists. Mr. Khouri will answer the questions: What is the long-term strategy for improving relations between the West and the Islamic world? Are the West and the Islamic world currently on the right path?
Co-sponsored by: Americans for Informed Democracy, Middle East Studies Department, Middle East Studies DUG, Brown Muslim Students Association, Office of Campus Life and Student Services
6. The State Public Interest Research Groups (State PIRG’s) will be holding on-campus interviews and an information session at Brown University on Monday October 31st.
The State PIRG’s are a network of independent, state-based, citizen-funded organizations that advocate for the public interest and work on issues related to the environment, consumer rights and democratic government. For over 30 years the state PIRGs have been winning real results for consumers and for our environment.
For some recent highlights of their work in Rhode Island please link to these news articles on:
Renewable Energy: http://www.projo.com/business
Global Warming: http://www.projo.com/news
The upcoming information session will be held at 12 noon, at the Career Development Center in Pembroke Hall, on October 31st. The information session is a great chance to learn more about the jobs that the PIRG’s are hiring for next year and to ask any questions you may have about the organization or opportunities available.
Interviews will also be held on October 31st in the morning and afternoon. To sign up for an interview time please visit the Brown University Career Development Center or link to their website at http://careerdevelopment.brown
For more information about jobs with the State PIRG’s please follow this link: http://www.pirg.org/jobs or feel free to write an e-mail to mauten@ripirg.org or call (401) 421-6578.
EXCELLENT meeting, dudes. Here's what we discussed:
*Thanks to Thane, we will have a representative tomorrow at "Modeling the Solutions" with Julia Butterfly Hill, an event promoting activism for RISD and Brown students as well as members of the Providence community.
***Next Tuesday, October 25th, from 4 to 6 P.M., the GISP "Tea, Coffee, and Alcohol: Social and Commodity History" will be discussing Fair Trade coffee in Coffee Exchange (207 Wickenden St.) This group of "relaxed, low key, intellectually curious individuals" would love to have members of Oxfam contribute to the discussion!***
*Stella and Jessica met with representatives of Engineers Without Borders and Tech House to discuss the progress of the infamous Hourglass. Good news! It should be ready in time for the Hunger Banquet during Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
*The Fair Trade Chocolate Extravaganza is quickly approaching!!! In terms of Fair Trade content, the event will feature:
-letters to Nestle as the entrance "ticket"
-a petition to get Fair Trade in Brown's dining halls
-facts incorporated into the food--to be digested mentally, not physically (e.g. wrapping brownies with facts about FT chocolate)
-index cards given to people as they leave with five ways to help and three to five facts about Fair Trade
-a donation jar
-an optional pledge in which people take five colored rubber bands and give them to the people that they tell about Fair Trade and how to help
In terms of entertainment, the extravaganza will feature:
The Chattertocks
The Ursa Minors
The Higher Keys
Photo Club photos
***Bands??? If you know of some/belong to one that would like to perform, e-mail Christina_Ma@brown.edu ***
In terms of food, the extravaganza will feature:
-chocolate in various forms
-Fair Trade honey, possibly
-chocolate in a variety of forms
We need:
-publicizers: if you can tableslip sometime(s) from Wednesday, October 26th to Saturday, October 29th, please e-mail Christina_Ma@brown.edu with the day and time
-cooks! if you can cook on Sunday, October 30th (anytime during the day before 7 P.M.) e-mail (guess who?) Christina_Ma@brown.edu
-set-uppers: if you can set up between 7 and 8 P.M. on Sunday, October 30th, e-mail Christina_Ma@brown.edu (thanks, Christina!)
*Fair Trade in Dining Halls: Louella Hill will attend one of our upcoming meetings to tell us about Brown Dining Services and how we can integrate Fair Trade products, such as rice, bananas, chocolate, and honey
*Fair Trade campaign on Thayer Street: thanks to all who went to Oceans and Roba Dolce asking for Fair Trade coffee. Plans are in the works for talking to managers, getting petitions, etc. in order to get them to change over. E-mail Esme_Cullen@brown.edu if interested in helping out with this.
October 3:
Dear Oxfam Members,
What a wonderful meeting we had tonight! Thanks to all who came, and to those of you who couldn't make it, you were sorely missed. Here's what we discussed:
1. ***FINALLY: A WAY TO HELP OUT WITHOUT GIVING UP TOO MUCH OF YOUR PRECIOUS TIME***
We are beginning a campaign to convince local restaurants/cafes to sell Fair Trade coffee. Next week, we are focusing our efforts on Oceans @ Ease Cafe. Please take 5 minutes to stop by Oceans each day next week (October 10th to 17th) to request a Fair Trade coffee, and ask 2-3 of your friends to do the same. If 50 students come in each day requesting Fair Trade coffee, Oceans has more incentive to sell it. As a follow-up to next week's petition, we will approach Oceans with more information about FT coffee suppliers. There is a sign-up sheet posted in the Hourglass Cafe, or just stop by Oceans when you have the time! The more odd times we cover, the better, so don't just go in those ten minutes between classes. For more information, contact Esme_Cullen@brown.edu
AND...check out the attached information sheet so that you know what you're talking about when asking for Fair Trade coffee.
2. Parents Weekend Table
On Saturday, October 15th, during Parents Weekend, we will have a table on the Main Green with free samples of Fair Trade coffee, information about Oxfam and Fair Trade, and a quiz about Oxfam-related issues. We will award prizes of Fair Trade chocolate to those brave enough to take our quiz. The schedule for staffing the table is as follows:
9-10 (setup) Stella Klemperer
10-11 Kelly Nichols and Cristina Celis
11-12 Heather Vail
12-1 Julia Hazen
1-2 Julia Hazen (again...yay!)
2-3 Yeye Zhang
3-4 Akriti Bhambi
4-4:30 (cleanup) Daniela Alvarado
It's always nice to have company while staffing, so if you are willing and able to do a shift, e-mail
Hope_Turner@brown.edu
3. Fair Trade Chocolate Extravaganza for Halloween
Tentatively scheduled for the evening of Sunday, October 30th in the Hourglass Cafe and the Lower Blue Room, we will be holding an event featuring creative products of Fair Trade chocolate (such as fondue, mousse, cookies, and more). We are also hoping to feature live music and/or poetry. We will be cooking in one or two of the co-ops during the day. If interested in cooking, if you have some good recipe ideas, or if you know of/ belong to a band that would be interested in playing, contact Christina_Ma@brown.edu
4. Hunger and Homelessness
On Sunday, November 13th, Oxfam, along with SHHAC (Student Hunger and Homelessness Action Coalition), will be holding a Hunger Banquet, an eye-opening simulation of the global distribution of food. For more information about Hunger Banquets, go to http://www.hungerbanquet.org
We are looking for people to help organize this year's Hunger Banquet (particularly freshmen and sophomores). If interested, contact Heather_Vail@brown.edu
5. ***NEXT MEETING ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12th AT 8 P.M. IN THE HOURGLASS CAFE***
The next meeting will NOT take place on Columbus Day, so it has been moved to Wednesday. We will have a guest from Coffee Exchange/Coffee Kids, telling us about Fair Trade and how these socially conscious organizations have implemented it.
THANKS FOR READING! Have good weeks and even better long weekends!