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Washington D.C. ---- As a graduate of Roosevelt University, I am extremely proud that my alma mater decided to take an active role in ending the genocide in that region by passing a resolution to divest in companies or funds doing business in the Sudan. This decision reflects their strong social justice principles.
Since 2003, the violence in Darfur has displaced over 2 million people, and over 400,000 men, women, and children have been brutally murdered. We must be clear about this. Genocide in Darfur is not a political issue, but a human issue, a moral issue, and an issue of compassion.
According to Roosevelt University’s website, they said that the ‘resolution is designed to exert pressure on the Sudanese government to change its genocidal and ethnic cleansing policies. The board believes that Roosevelt University must abide by its commitment to social justice in a global setting.
Roosevelt has joined a long list of Chicago-based institutions of higher learning that have divested from the Sudan. I look forward to hearing a similar statement from the University of Chicago, which has chosen not to divest from the Sudan, despite marches led by students of the university, as well as people of faith, people of character, and people of compassion. I personally led a demonstration on May 31 on the University’s campus. The University of Chicago should follow the lead of DePaul University, Northwestern University, the University of Illinois, and now Roosevelt University who have done the right thing.
I will not rest until we have persuaded the University of Chicago and all other institutions to divest completely from the Sudan, and from companies doing business with the Sudan.
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