Past Events

One Book, One Philadelphia
One Book, One Philadelphia is a joint project of the Mayor’s Office and the Free Library of Philadelphia. The mission of the program, which is entering its sixth consecutive year, is to promote reading, literacy, library usage, and community building throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The 2008 One Book program runs from January 8 through March 20, 2008.

Hunger Banquet
Drexel International Law and Human Rights Society will host a Hunger Banquet today, April 1, 2009, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the third floor lounge, Earle Mack School of Law (3320 Market Street).
The Hunger Banquet is an opportunity to learn about issues of food security around the world and in the Philadelphia area.

Jam Against Genocide
(story by Joshua Kurtz, The Triangle, 5/8/09)
The Drexel University Writing Program and Center for Civic Engagement hosted Jam Against Genocide, a benefit concert to increase awareness about human rights issues in Africa and to raise funds for the lost boys and girls of Sudan, May 5.
The event included information tables featuring different charitable organizations, including Amnesty International, Uhuru and STAND, A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition.
Inspiration for the event stemmed from a discussion group that had formed among University 101 students, according to Justin Bradley, a senior majoring in psychology and the event organizer. Bradley also facilitated the University 101 discussion group.
“We decided there needed to be something to come out of our discussion group,” Ranna Jaraha, a freshman majoring in biology, said.
Bradley said one main goal of the event was to raise more awareness at Drexel about human rights issues.
“I just hope that more happens around this issue [at Drexel],” Bradley said.
Some of the charitable organizations present at the event were interested in expanding their presence at Drexel.
Amnesty International hopes to be able to start a Drexel chapter, according to representative Brianne Blakey, a University of Pennsylvania student and former president of the Amnesty International chapter at Penn.
Katie Ashmore, a Swarthmore College student who next year will become the National Outreach Coordinator for STAND, said she hoped the event would help lead to continued action related to human rights and Africa at Drexel, and perhaps the start of a Drexel chapter of STAND.
The event also aimed to increase awareness about the genocide currently occurring in the Darfur region of western Sudan and other Africa human rights issues.
“We need to push our government to act against genocide in foreign countries,” Brandon Blakey, a sophomore majoring in biology and a representative at the Amnesty international table, said.
Harris Daniels, a representative at the concert from Uhuru, an African solidarity movement, said his organization hoped to provide the Drexel and Philadelphia community with information on how they can help the African community.
All donations received during the jam will go to the Lost Boys (and Girls) Reunion Project, which attempts to provide airfare for reuniting Sudanese lost boys and girls living in the Philadelphia area with their families abroad, according to the event’s news release.
The Sudanese lost boys and girls were separated from their families as children during the second Sudanese Civil War. The surviving children journeyed across Sudan, sometimes reaching other African countries. In 2001, the U.S. government allowed some of the lost boys and girls to come to America.
The Lost Boys (And Girls) Reunion Project was started by Josh Millan, a senior at Harriton High School. Millan started the program with support from the Drexel Writing Program and his high school teacher, Terry O’Connor. The program has raised $3,600 so far in order to allow lost boy Michael Kuch to reunite with his family living in Australia.
The benefit concert took place in Behrakis Grand Hall and included video clips about the Sudanese lost boys and girls in addition to the musical performances.