By Charlene Chew, staff writer
Cal High’s STAND Club will host its first benefit concert tonight in hopes of raising money and awareness for its refugee sister school in Chad, which houses displaced victims of the genocide in Darfur.
The performance will showcase four local high school bands and musicians with a varied mixture of alternative, metal, indie, punk, and rock music. The bands include Malicious, The Craft, Graham Harper and Evan Hillis and Amori.
Concert-goers will also have the opportunity to learn more about the conflict in Darfur, see a video about the club’s sister school, and participate in an advocacy project to show their support.
The concert proceeds will go toward building and repairing school buildings, recruiting and training teachers, and providing school supplies and sports equipment for students.
“It’s certainly the most ambitious undertaking since I’ve been head of the club,” said science teacher Douglas Mason, the third-year adviser of the club. “This is something that’s really on a different level.”
STAND Club, previously called Grizzlies Against Genocide, has sold wristbands and sent postcards in the past, but it is now stepping up efforts to increase financial aid and awareness of the situation to a wider audience.
Awareness is a big goal for the club. The conflict in Darfur doesn’t get a lot of media attention, so the club wants to make people aware, said Mason.
STAND, a national organization, formerly stood for Students Take Action Now: Darfur. It was changed to just STAND to broaden the organization’s mission of ending all genocide across the world and in the future.
Although it is a chapter of the STAND organization, the Cal STAND Club received its sister school through the Darfur Dream Team Sister School Program.
After watching several documentaries about the Darfur conflicts in class, freshman Mary Watson felt motivated to be a force that helps victims of genocide in Darfur.
“Just seeing everything got me really inspired to do something about it all,” said Mary.
Mary, an active member of the club, has been advertising for bands to play at the concert.
Juniors Graham Harper and Evan Hillis will be performing at the event. Graham is excited to see what students will think about an event putting talent to good use.
“A lot of musicians have big egos and use their music to support themselves, but I’m not about that,” said Graham. “Being asked to play at a charity event is really an honor.”
Graham has played at other charity events, but never at one that has brought together students from different schools.
“I hope people have a sense of awareness about what’s going on in our world and get inspiration to help the world and not just live in our San Ramon,” said Graham.
The club hopes the concert will motivate people to become more knowledgeable about the situation so they can do something to help people out over there, said senior Megan Cook, a club member.
Mason said their goal is to do whatever they can do to make a difference.
This year the club has taken an aggressive approach at raising money and awareness for the brutal fighting and suppressing of rebel groups by the Sudanese government and the Janjaweed militia.
About 400,000 have been killed and more than 3 million people displaced in the conflict, declared a genocide in 2004 by the U.S.
“With the number of people involved, the length of time it has gone on, and the brutality, that is something that’s really hard to turn away from,” said Mason.
STAND club members say the benefit concert is a supportive and enjoyable opportunity for students and the community to do their part in helping victims of genocide in Darfur.
“These people didn’t do anything,” said junior Alex Petterson, treasurer of the club. “Yet they don’t have a choice to be removed from their homes.”
In order to aid refugees, members of the club have been meeting every other Thursday since November to put together their biggest event of the year, which is solely student organized.
Club president senior Caitlin Kawaguchi has been the main contact with the STAND and Darfur Dream Team organizations, and she has been working with Cal’s administration to get approval for the event’s several technicalities.
“She’s really been the force behind everything,” said Mason.
The club is excited to rally support for its cause and see the turnout of its first concert.
Alex hopes that people who attend the show will know they helped a cause and also had a good time.
The concert will be from 7-9 p.m. in the Commons. Admission is $5 and tickets will be sold at the door.
The money goes to help support the education and livelihood of the refugees, as well as providing them with resources to build and organize a community advocating genocide prevention.
All proceeds will go to Cal’s STAND club’s sister school in a refugee camp in Chad.
The Goz Amer refugee camp has more than 12,000 children who will benefit from receiving an education from the school.
“It’s really sad to think about genocide and all the kids displaced,” said Alex. “All they want is an education, so it’ll be nice to give them the basic supplies they need and we take for granted.”
