If you would like to sign up for any of the following events, let one of the officers know at the meeting, or e-mail us at hrac.uf at gmail dot com. We constantly check our inbox.
Please take the two minutes to call in and help flood your congressman's inbox with messages to vote for the NATO force for Sudan. You can read the exact script below if you'd like:
"Hi, this is ___ calling from ___. I'm calling to urge Representative _____ to co-sponsor and vote for House Resolution 723, which calls for a NATO peacekeeping force to stop the genocide in Darfur.
Under current circumstances, a NATO force is the only realistic way to stop the suffering of more than 2.5 million Darfurians. Please tell the Congressman/woman that his/her constituents care about Darfur and expect Congress to support a NATO force.
I would also like to inform you that on March 7th, 2006, the Student Body of the University of Florida officially passed a Resolution condemning the genocide in Darfur. 48,000 Florida constituents have now declared that they want YOU to use the power of your office to take action to stop genocide. Thank you."
Every position is annually put up for elections. Anyone can run for any position as long as you follow the basic criteria outlined in HRAC's Constitution, as described below:
First, you cannot nominate yourself for a position. You must be nominated by a peer and that nomination must be SECONDED by another peer. Then, you must give a 3 minute speech about yourself and your experience, emphasizing why you think you should have the position you are running for. After that, you will be subject to a 2 minute public question and answer period. Elections will be decided by a secret ballot. Elected officers will remain in office until the end of the semester after which time their replacement, or themselves, will take over.
Paul Rusesabagina, the real-life hero of "Hotel Rwanda" and the inspiration of this organization, will be speaking at Central Florida Community College, which is in Ocala, 30 minutes south of Gainesville.
The Stetson University STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur) Summit approaches! Several people have signed up to carpool down to Deland, Florida for the day for the conference. The definite names we have are as follows:
Next Thursday, February 9, will be our 2nd General Body Meeting for the Spring.We have several issues to discuss at the meeting:
For one hour, the Cold Stone on Newberry Road (near Gator Dockside and the movie theater) is sponsoring a fundraiser for us. We earn 25% of the profits gathered from people who get ice cream through our name -- but only if MORE THAN 100 people attend! So bring all of your friends, or just buy a few cones and freeze them, so you can help raise some money for events to support our cause!
On Saturday, probably around noon, a mass of us will travel over to the long graffiti wall on 34th Street, just south of 2nd Avenue, and paint "Stop Genocide" in white writing on a strong green background for all passers-by to see. We may also write the Website URL underneath, smaller, so more people who want to become active can do so.
Contributions for paint are gladly accepted, as our budget for such materials is limited.