Editors note: In journalism we follow Associated Press (AP) style guidelines. Per those guidelines, in this story we refer to the conflict between Israel and Palestine as the “Israel-Hamas war.” Any questions or comments may be directed to our Editor-in-Chief, Paige Naughton at pnaughto@cord.edu.
MOORHEAD — The Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a table in the Atrium Wednesday, Nov 29 through Friday, Dec. 1 where students could learn how to contact government representatives to express their concerns about the Israel-Hamas war.
The table provided students with resources such as packets with facts about the conflict in Israel, as well as a brochure with information about how to contact representatives. The brochure specifically listed the names and contact information of Minnesota and North Dakota federal representatives and senators, as well as provided a QR code for out of state students who wanted to contact their lawmakers. The brochure also included a QR code students could scan for call scripts to help them voice their concerns to their representatives.
The event was proposed by the SGA Israel-Palestine Response subcommittee following their creation in the wake of the crisis in the Gaza Strip.
In an email to students on Tuesday, Nov. 28 SGA president Jesus Gonzalez said the event was part of an effort to “provide spaces of support for students affected by the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”
Akissi Konan, a member of the subcommittee, helped table the event and provided resources to students about what they can do to make their voices heard in the wake of the crisis.
Part of the goal of the table was to show SGA was listening to students on campus who had expressed their desire for more initiative action from the organization and wanted people to know that SGA “hears them and they care,” said Konan.
“If we really want to uphold the actions Concordia promotes in BREW, we need to commit to doing things and not just say we will do something and not follow through,” Anna Kronbeck, Vice President of Student Government Association, said about the table.
BREW stands for Becoming Responsibly Engaged in the World and is a concept Concordia promotes to their students as a way to challenge themselves, engage with the community and serve others.
Tony Berndt, a sophomore at Concordia who visited the table was inspired by the response of students on campus and their willingness to engage in complex and important topics.
“It’s really great to see that students on campus not only care about the problems happening in the world, but that they want to get involved too and do something about it. I think being able to contact your representatives is a good way to start,” Berndt said.
The event experienced a setup delay on Wednesday and had shorter hours, but Konan said the table had such high levels of engagement from students on its first day that they had to print more brochures for both Thursday and Friday.
Konan also wanted students to know that other organizations on campus are taking steps to address the conflict in Israel and Palestine and bring attention and awareness to it and encourages students to look out for such events.
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