How do you stop genocide?

A new sociology class on the conflict in Darfur may give students interested in activism a better idea of how to answer this question.

The class, a collaboration between the Department of Sociology's Organizing for Social Change program and the group Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, will be offered for the first time next semester.

The class will be taught by student members of STAND. Organizers said the course seeks to provide an in-depth history of the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, as well as techniques for encouraging international action to end the conflict.

Since early 2003, Arab militias in the Darfur region of western Sudan have attacked non-Arabs in a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than two million individuals. Many voices in the international community accuse the Sudanese government of supporting the ethnic cleansing of non-Arabs by Arab militias.

In February 2004, the U.S. Congress, as well as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, declared that the actions of the Arab militias constituted genocide, although the United Nations and some human rights organizations have not acknowledged that genocide has taken place in Darfur.

The U.N. defines genocide as an attempt to destroy in part or in whole a religious, ethnic or national group. Under the 1948 U.N. Convention on Genocide, the member nations of the U.N. must take action to stop genocide wherever it occurs.

STAND and other campus groups believe decisive action is necessary. These groups are working to promote awareness of the situation on campus and campaigning for legislative action by the U.S. government.

"There's a hope among people that genocides are a thing of the past, but they're not," said LSA junior Alison Barrall, founder of the University's chapter of STAND. Barrall will serve as one of the teachers of the class.

Last semester, STAND focused its efforts on encouraging Michigan Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow to sponsor the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, which would authorize the president to aid the African Union in relief efforts in the region. The measure - which was sponsored by Levin and Stabenow - passed the Senate in a unanimous vote Friday.

Lacking a concrete goal to work toward this semester, the group has had difficulty inspiring students to become involved, said RC junior Lauren Boland, who will teach the proposed class with Barrall.

To renew interest and mobilize students on campus, STAND has partnered with Project Outreach in the Department of Sociology to develop a class that will energize a core group of students for work on the Darfur issue.

"(The class will) give them a stance on which to base their activism," Barrall said. "It's really important for activists to have a significant knowledge of what they're in support of."

The main focus of the class will be urging the Bush administration to take action against the government of Sudan, organizers said.

"We're an influential country, and if we were to press them - the U.N. or Sudan - then something would be done," Boland said.

The Department of Sociology first publicized the class last week in an e-mail to STAND members. Student response to the class has been overwhelmingly positive, said faculty sponsor Ian Robinson, co-chair of the Lecturers' Employee Organization.

"Within 24 hours, we had 34 people who said they want to be part of it," Robinson said. "I've never seen anything like that before."

Students active in the Darfur campaign said they hope the class will build on ongoing efforts to raise awareness and stop the genocide in the region.

On Thursday, the University chapter of Amnesty International, STAND and the Muslim Students' Association held a Sudan Day of Action on the Diag to raise awareness about the genocide and encourage students to take action on the issue. The groups collected signatures for a petition demanding that the Bush administration lead an international movement against genocide in Darfur, said MSA political chair Shimaa Abdelfadeel.

On Nov. 8, the Michigan Student Assembly passed a resolution calling on the University Board of Regents to formally declare that the University will not invest in Sudan because of links between the Sudanese government and Arab militias that target civilians.

LSA senior Mike Forster, former External Relations Committee chair for the assembly, who sponsored the resolution, said it was meant to, "send a message that we care about issues outside of campus." The University does not have any investments or plans to invest in companies operating in Sudan, University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said.