Last Wednesday, you probably noticed the seas of poster boards, color pamphlets, free buttons and half-melted popsicles lining the Tate Plaza. Perhaps you even grabbed a few brochures and shook a few hands in the hopes of finding a little niche outside of the library and Broad Street. Whether  academic, hobby oriented or philanthropic, the seemingly endless extra-curricular possibilities at the Student Activities Fair may have come off a tad overwhelming. Have no fear. Since The Red & Black knows the value of getting students involved in humanitarian efforts, we have put together a small guide to campus student activist groups. This is just the beginning — check back next week for more opportunities to get involved in Athens.

— Michael Prochaska

NOT FOR SALE

Kristin Foxworth
Group representative
What is Not For Sale?

“Not For Sale is an abolitionist organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking, which is modern-day slavery.”

Important Goals

“Right now we want to increase awareness about this issue and get people informed about what kind of policy our state and federal government has in place for victims of human trafficking.

“We will also be working to raise money and other resources to go towards fighting human trafficking.

“We plan on working with Wellspring Living, a safe house in Georgia that works to restore women and girls who have been rescued from situations of sexual abuse, forced prostitution, and other destructive behaviors.”

Major Accomplishments

“The UGA chapter of Not For Sale is very new, and has not had an opportunity to be much of a presence on campus yet. They have constructed a slavery map on their website, where you can find out where human trafficking is happening near you and have also worked with the International Labor Rights Forum to create www.free2work.org, a site where consumers can find companies that have been checked out and proven not to have utilized slave labor when creating their products.”

Important Dates, Contact

Next meeting: Wednesday, September 15 at 6:30 in the MLC;

www.notforsalecampaign.org, www.notforsalega.org

Verdict:

Slavery isn’t just an historical injustice. The truth is that freedom is still only a dream to millions.

ATHENS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE

Nathan Christensen
Group representative
What is Athens for Justice in Palestine?

“A student group that advocates the Palestinian people’s right to statehood, helps bring awareness to the human rights violations imposed on the Palestinian peoples, and presents the community with unbiased and up to date media coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.”

Important Goals

“We aim to inform about the plight of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as well as the suffering of the Palestinian refugees in neighboring countries and the Palestinian citizens of Israel.”

Major Accomplishments

“Every year it seems we notice more and more people coming and giving us positive responses.”

Important Dates, Contact

Meetings Thursdays 5 p.m, MLC room 275; www.uga.edu/palestine, ajp1948@gmail.com

DAWGS FOR ISRAEL

Lily Feinberg
Vice President of Public Relations
What is Dawgs for Israel?

“We are an Israel advocacy group. We host events that celebrate history and culture. We host political events, bringing in speakers — usually politicians or campus leaders — to talk about their views on Israel. We also stand up for Israel in times when the media is biased.”

Important Goals

“We want to gain a larger presence on campus, and, I think, to bring in more prominent speakers in the future.”

Major Accomplishments

“Every year we see Israel day as a major accomplishment. It’s a birthday celebration for the state of Israel. We host it on campus and thousands of people come through. We spread a lot of information on Israel. A few years ago we put together a petition of over 5,000 names of students who support Israel.”

Important Dates, Contact

Meetings Thursdays in the MLC;

http://twitter.com/DawgsforIsrael

BEYOND COAL

Heather Hatzenbuhler
Group representative

What is the Beyond Coal Campaign?

“Beyond Coal is a joint effort between the Sierra Student Coalition and the Sierra Club to move our nation’s universities beyond coal to 100% clean energy solutions since 2008.”

Beyond Coal’s goal is aimed at weaning America off of its dependence on coal and instead focus on a 100% clean energy source. Photo courtesy of BEYOND COAL

Important Goals

“The main goal of the UGA Beyond Coal campaign is to get a signed agreement by our administration committing to transition away from coal and toward clean energy in our campus power plant by 2013.

“Our broader goals as the UGA chapter of the Sierra Student Coalition are to train, empower, and organize youth to run effective campaigns that result in tangible environmental victories and that develop leaders for the environmental movement. We want to build a community of friendship and support for passionate and environmentally conscientious students.”

Major Accomplishments

“Last semester our focus was on exposing the issue, so our presence in the media was a huge victory for us. In addition to 10 different printed articles, we were featured on two national blogs for the flash mob we organized in Tate plaza, in which a large group of students came together and performed a dance that they had in the weeks prior to the event. Basically it was a really unique and fun way to call attention to the major issues that stem from our campus coal broiler. We also collected over 1000 petitions from students, faculty, alumni, and community members calling for President Adams to move UGA beyond coal and toward a clean energy future.”

Contact

ugabeyondcoal.wordpress.com

Verdict:

This group’s ambitious mission statement seems idealistic, but their creativity and voice cannot be matched.