GW approved a plan this month to annually give a full four-year scholarship to one student from the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan.
Last year, student activists on campus urged the administration to divest University holdings from companies that do business in the African country. The University refused to divest, but members of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur proposed the scholarship program.
In mid-September University administrators approved the plan to give one student from Darfur a Stephen Joel Trachtenberg scholarship, an award traditionally given to D.C. public school students.
"President Trachtenberg offered the students an opportunity to promote this initiative because he is convinced it is more likely to produce needed change in Sudan than divestment," Gerry Kauvar, special assistant to the President, wrote in an e-mail.
The project, named Banaa, will begin next fall and was devised this summer by STAND leaders. STAND is a national organization that lobbies for the end to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Organizers presented a 16-page project proposal to Trachtenberg and the University's vice presidents two weeks ago.
Trachtenberg asked the organization last spring to propose a Darfur relief method emphasizing GW's educational resources, said student leaders in STAND. University officials told The Hatchet last spring that GW was unlikely to divest, despite increasing campus activism.
Over two dozen major universities nationwide have committed to divestment and STAND leaders said they remain committed to lobbying for divestment at GW.
"I think this program, while it might seem like it's related to divestment, is really separate from it," said senior Sara Weisman, the president of STAND and a leader of Banaa.
In Arabic the word Banaa means to found, build upon or create. In its capacity at GW, Banaa is a multi-step project that will start by searching for qualified, intelligent high-school students in the Darfur region, according to the project proposal.
Last year, student activists on campus urged the administration to divest University holdings from companies that do business in the African country. The University refused to divest, but members of Students Taking Action Now: Darfur proposed the scholarship program.
In mid-September University administrators approved the plan to give one student from Darfur a Stephen Joel Trachtenberg scholarship, an award traditionally given to D.C. public school students.
"President Trachtenberg offered the students an opportunity to promote this initiative because he is convinced it is more likely to produce needed change in Sudan than divestment," Gerry Kauvar, special assistant to the President, wrote in an e-mail.
The project, named Banaa, will begin next fall and was devised this summer by STAND leaders. STAND is a national organization that lobbies for the end to the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Organizers presented a 16-page project proposal to Trachtenberg and the University's vice presidents two weeks ago.
Trachtenberg asked the organization last spring to propose a Darfur relief method emphasizing GW's educational resources, said student leaders in STAND. University officials told The Hatchet last spring that GW was unlikely to divest, despite increasing campus activism.
Over two dozen major universities nationwide have committed to divestment and STAND leaders said they remain committed to lobbying for divestment at GW.
"I think this program, while it might seem like it's related to divestment, is really separate from it," said senior Sara Weisman, the president of STAND and a leader of Banaa.
In Arabic the word Banaa means to found, build upon or create. In its capacity at GW, Banaa is a multi-step project that will start by searching for qualified, intelligent high-school students in the Darfur region, according to the project proposal.
