Welcome to the New (School) Year!

It was great to see everybody at the meeting last night. And especially so many freshmen! We hope to see you back next week in SLC room 207 (conveniently located less than fifty feet from Jittery Joe's).

Here's a quick recap of what all happened last night:

1. We got mixed up with the people from SGA. But it's alright. We love them anyway.
2. We welcomed you to the first meeting of the new year and showed the trailer for Go!, which the IC roadies will be showing when they come later in the semester.
3. JD (the Josh Dunn WITHOUT the amazing facial hair) read a quick update of what's happening in Uganda. If you missed it or want to keep up with the news during the week, you can look here and here.
4. We (the leaders) introduced ourselves and what we do. Then we broke up so that you could come meet us and talk about getting involved.

If you missed the meeting or had to leave early, have no fear, you can still be involved. And here's how.

Josh "JD" Dunn is in charge of activism - setting up screenings and all that. And while he seems to know everybody on campus, he needs your help. As fun as screenings are, there is just not enough time in the day for one person to do it all.

Hillary Hunter is in charge of PR and media. This means fliers, press kits, and generally, making pretty things for people to look at. If you are "PhotoShop savvy" , we'd love to have you help out. Or, you could help us distribute the fliers and press kits - it's a great way to get to see Athens and the UGA campus.

Amanda Burke is in charge merchandise. They make pretty things for people to wear. It's kind of like PR that we can sell. If you like making your own clothes (or want to learn how), this group is meant for you. Plus, you get the satisfaction of seeing someone wearing a hat and saying, "I made that."

Alice Serres is in charge of the art team. This is for those of you who see the world in a different way and know how to express it.

Jon Kim is in charge of "Change for Change". People almost always have loose change, but never use it. More often than not, it collects in jars, pockets, and under couch cushions. John has a dream of a world in which the change does more than just sit around, but instead goes to the greater good, and he has kindly invited you to join in.

Drew Lewis (that's me) is in charge of the blog - the thing you're reading right now. If you want to write for it, submit pictures or videos, or are "HTML literate", I'd love to have your help.

Of course, these teams are not mutually exclusive. They serve as more of a jumping off point. If you want to make hats for the merch team and host a screening in your dorm, we will not stop you. On the contrary, you might just become our favorite person ever.

Shalom and see you next week.

Edit: It was brought to my attention that I misspelled Alice's last name and Jon's first name. My sincerest apologies to you both.

Get Ready! Get Excited!

The school year has started, and soon, so shall we.

And we have big plans.

Ugandan Children Work in Rock Quarries

Found this article from the Associated Press. An interesting look at life outside of northern Uganda, worth reading.

Excerpt:

Stephen Batte works in a quarry under the blazing sun, chipping rocks into gravel with a homemade hammer. It's tiring, boring and dangerous.

Stephen is 9 years old, and has been on the rock pile since he was 4....

***

At the height of the 22-year conflict between the government and a brutal, shadowy rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army, almost two million people fled. Most ended up in squalid government-controlled camps, but advocacy groups estimate that there are up to 600,000 in the cities.

A truce has enabled many of the camp-dwellers to go home, with food, tools and building materials provided by the government and aid groups. But the urban refugees don't qualify for help and have remained unregistered and invisible....

***

"I wish I could be helped," he said, picking at a large scab on his knee, "but I cannot see another life for me."

Shalom.

Post Script: Originally posted 1 June 2008 as "Life in Uganda"

Disturbing News from the UN

A recent report from the UN Secretary-General and Save the Children UK claims that peacekeepers and aid workers have been sexually abusing children in war zones, especially those in Africa.

Furthermore, such abuse is difficult to prosecute because of the limitations of international law.

Find the full article here.

While Uganda is not listed as one of the affected areas, the abuse of children, especially those in already-dire situations, is detestable.

Shalom.

Post Script: Originally posted 27 May 2008

In Memory of Tierra Bardley

For those who have not heard yet, I regret to inform you that Tierra Bardley was killed in a car accident on Friday night.

Many of us knew Tierra for her energy and devotion to Invisible Children, and her death is a great loss for ICU and for all of UGA.

Please, keep her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Shalom.

Post Script: Originally Posted 20 April 2008

"Do something"

On Wednesday, Dr. Jan Willis, professor of Religion at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, was the guest lecturer for my Religion in Literature class, and later that evening, gave a presentation titled "Buddhism, Nonviolence, and Dr. King".

Dr. Willis is an amazing woman - an accomplished author, but also an accomplished human being. When she was in the tenth grade, she marched with Dr. King in Alabama. Several years later, she traveled to India, looking for answers, and studied under Tibetan lama Thubten Yeshe.

I had the opportunity to ask her a question after her lecture to my class and, trying - and very likely failing - to not make a fool of myself, asked something along the lines of, "What was it like to grow up in such a troubled time, and especially to be traveling abroad as the US tried to tear itself apart?" An average question to be sure, her answer was more poetic than I ever could have hoped for.

She said, in short, that there was a general feeling of hope. Even though the sixties saw, within five years, the assassinations of JFK, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy, there was a great sense that things would get better. Even as she discussed the Vietnam War, she was quick to point out that her generation, the college kids, were working for the world they wanted to live in. She mentioned that she is asked to give lectures to people her own age, people who have seen the world slowly stop to care, and she gives them this advice: "Do something. Build a house with Habitat, do anything. Do something."

In the later lecture, Dr. Willis devoted a lot of time to what she discussed earlier in the day. She mentioned the great leaders of her time, all devoted to civil rights, but all devoted to peace, too. And then she mentioned Gandhi's now-famous quote, used as the motto for "Step Up": Become the change that you want to see in the world.

Our club has an incredible opportunity. We are at a major university with the resources to reach the entire world. We have the professors to guide us, the students to support us, and the world to challenge us. I look at Sanford Stadium on a game day and ask myself, "What would the world be like if those 90,000 people devoted themselves to something other than the Bulldog Nation?

And I say it's about time we find out.

Shalom, Drew

Post Script: Originally Posted 18 April 2008, minor edits made at later date

Street Fest - 'Twas Amazing

Hello all. Drew here.

For those who don't know, Saturday was ISL's Street Fest. And it was pretty cool. Clubs representing several different countries and cultures set up booths just across the street from the Arch and those of us in attendance were treated to music, dance, and fashion from around the world. Perhaps better than that was hanging out, enjoying the weather (which improved drastically as the afternoon progressed), and getting to meet people.

Which brings up an interesting point that I can make - for those who haven't gone tabling with us because they don't really know what they would say, worry not. It can be awkward at first, but after a few times of:

Drew (first time tabling): "So...um...have you...um...ever...uh...heard of Invisible Children?"
Passer-by: "No, not really."
Drew: "Oh, um....well, the poster kind of...uh...explains it all."

you actually get pretty comfortable and end up having twenty-minute conversations (ok, not really that long, but it's possible) and you meet some of the coolest people around. So, tangent topics aside, you should definitely come tabling with us next semester. And hopefully, we'll have many opportunities for you to do so.

Anyway, back to Street Fest. They had snow cones. Free snow cones, yo.

I didn't do Street Fest last year - I don't know what I was doing, but I'm willing to bet that it wasn't as interesting. So, check it out next year.

Shalom.

Post Script: Originally Posted 15 April 2008

Welcome to the New Blog!

We've switched from Tumbler to Blogger/Blogspot because...well, it's better. And owned by Google.

But don't worry, not all of the old posts are lost. They'll be transferred over.

It's all good.

Shalom.