Next week, Marquette's Darfur Action Coalition will send postcards to the Wisconsin Legislature regarding the group's efforts to have the U.S. government divest from companies giving money to Sudan.
Neal Styka, a senior in the College of Engineering and the chair of student divestment campaign through JUSTICE said the Darfur Action Coalition has had tables in the Alumni Memorial Union, Raynor Library and various dorms. At these tables, students can sign postcards that will be sent to the legislature.
Styka said the postcards ask students to support a bill that calls Wisconsin lawmakers to look into companies who are invested in Sudan, such as PetroChina. He said the revenue of these companies goes to the Sudanese government.
"The government spends 70 percent of the money on weapons and militias," Styka said. "These militias go and do the killing in these countries."
Going after these companies and saying the United States will not invest in them anymore will cause their stocks to fall, and the companies will see that giving money to Sudan is not good for the company in the end, he said.
According to Barrett McCormick, professor of political science and co-coordinator of international affairs programs, the bill will be introduced next week at a press conference in Madison.
He said it would require the state pension fund to divest from certain Wisconsin companies that support the Sudan government.
Katherine Skoczalek, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, said the postcards are an effective way to get the attention of local representatives. She said the organization is also hoping to send people to local communities to have more postcards signed and sent to their local representatives.
Last spring, the organization began a petition to support divestment of major Wisconsin companies from Sudan. It was able to get thousands of signatures from the Marquette campus and personally handed the petition to a local representative who then brought it to a protest.
"It brought a lot of attention to the situation," Skoczalek said.
The organization has several planned events for the spring to raise money and awareness for the cause. McCormick said there will be an art auction held on Feb. 27 to raise money for Darfur at the New World Wine Shop. He said the auction is being held with the Darfur Action Coalition of Wisconsin. Tickets are $16 for students and there will be refreshments provided.
The group is hoping to bring a few speakers to campus in March who either have dealt with refugees or are refugees themselves, according to Styka. He also said on April 14, 40 photographs from a photojournalist who spent time in Sudan will be presented in a display called "Hands of a Displaced Sudan: The Photographs of Ryan Reed."