• At this annual event that hosts over one hundred Mount Allison clubs and societies, the R&D Delegation set up a booth decorated with Rights & Democracy posters in Hessler Hall on Sunday, September 12, 2004 and collected names of interested students. At the end of the day a final email list was compiled and all the students who signed up were invited to attend the first General Assembly.

• With good attendance and in partnership with the ATLIS organization, the first General Assembly was held in mid-September. New ideas for projects were discussed as well as our goals for the year.

• In conjunction with the group Sudan NOW, R&D Delegation members helped to raise awareness about the conflict and humanitarian crisis taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan. Fact sheets and green ribbons were distributed in September to celebrate the United Nations International Day of Peace, and a petition expressing awareness and concern collected 420 signatures. Follow-up information was made available online at www. atlis.ca/sudan, thanks to the R&D Delegation’s connections with the ATLIS organization. A letter-writing campaign based on Amnesty International guidelines encouraged over 45 students to voice their concern over this issue to various political leaders around the world.

 

• October 2 nd was a Day of Action regarding Canada’s involvement in a Ballistic Missile Defense system, organized by Mount Allison’s Blue-Green Society. Rights and Democracy members took part in the effort to encourage students to inform themselves on this issue, which is of immediate concern to Canadians. While distributing information pamphlets outside of Jennings meal hall during brunch, we also provided several media for individuals to express themselves. Besides writing on a graffiti board, concerned people could add their names and comments to a paper chain. With nearly 200 links, the chain was displayed in the Student Union building.

• On October 2 nd, Sudan NOW organized a candlelight vigil at the University Chapel to remember the victims of the violence in Darfur.

• The R&D Delegation in conjunction with Sudan NOW featured a film viewing that was open to all students in Crabtree Auditorium. After completing some research on the Rwandan Genocide, Delegation members found a UN documentary in our university library that we showed after a short film about the current events in Darfur, Sudan. Sudan NOW member, Christina Macleod presented some of her research on the similarities of the two conflicts for the attendees.

 

• At the end of November, the Delegation published its first newsletter that provided more information about the Delegation, about the events of the fall and that promoted upcoming events. The newsletter was sent to Cynthia, Network Coordinator, in Montreal.

• The R&D Delegation members partnered with the SAC in the planning for Mount A’s International AIDS Week campaign. Red ribbons were tied around all of the trees on campus as part of the campaign.

• The R&D Delegation initiated an event that brought together students from all faculties as well as the university president for a good cause. On one incredibly cold night in December, a group of committed students and university staff went door-to-door carolling in the Sackville community to raise awareness about International AIDS Week and to raise funds for the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The group raised $260 and the rewarding night ended back in Hessler Hall where participants enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies in appreciation for their efforts.

• The Delegation published its second newsletter of the year and sent a copy to Cynthia once again in Montreal.

• ATLIS and the Rights and Democracy Delegation hosted a human rights conference at Mount Allison University. Undergraduate students from all over Atlantic Canada were invited to participate in the first event of its kind. Students, professors, NGO representatives, activists and experts gathered at the Mount Allison campus to learn, educate, and share their experiences in an effort to promote the values of human rights and democracy.

• As part of the Human Rights Conference, ATLIS and the R&D Delegation hosted the Where are the Girls Benefit Concert, held the night of January 22, with bands from all over Atlantic Canada entertaining conference participants. This event raised awareness and funds for women living Darfur, Sudan and violence against women.

• The Delegation hosted the first Network Regional Meeting on the last day of the ATLIS Conference. Members from the Moncton Delegation were in attendance as well as Cynthia Gervais, the Network Coordinator, Wayne MacKay, a Rights & Democracy member of the Board, and Lloyd Lipsett, the Senior Assistant to the President of Rights and Democracy.

 

• In light of the recent discussion in Canada’s parliament, some Delegation members wanted to provide Mount Allison students with more information about Same-Sex marriage legislation in Canada. Our SAC voted in favour of the bill and a petition was signed and sent to Sackville’s MP, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc. Some Delegation members also hosted the MP at their student home for a dinner to express their support of his decision on behalf of the student and community population.

• In cooperation with the cast and crew of the Vagina Monologues, the Delegation sold student-designed “I Stand for Human Rights” t-shirts before and after each performance of the play for a small cost of $5 per shirt. The response was overwhelming and we needed to create a waiting list while we printed more.

• Matthew Grant and Allison Coady met with Dr. James McNinch, Associate Professor with the Faculty of Education at the University of Regina, and the Director of the university’s Teaching Development Centre, who gave a talk on “Challenging Homophobia in Schools” at Mount Allison the day before. The Delegation members wanted the chance to personally speak to Dr. McNinch about what Mount Allison students could do to prevent homophobia on campus.

I Stand for Human Rights Day/UN Day for Women’s Rights, March 8 2005

• On Tuesday, March 8, 2005, the Delegation held their first annual ‘I Stand for Human Rights Day’ where Mount A students who had previously purchased t-shirts stood all day, during classes and at lunch, in solidarity for international human rights. This is an event which the Delegation hopes to continue and expand next year.

• Delegation representatives Matthew Grant and Allison Coady attended the Network Mingler in Montreal from March 22-24 2005. Here the two members met with other members from Delegations across Canada. Students shared their projects from the year and their experiences from being a part of the Network. Participants also heard presentations given by R&D experts outside of the Network.

 

• The ATLIS Journal Launch took place before exams at the Olive Branch in Sackville. Students enjoyed a supper together in celebration of their efforts and short presentations by the Editorial Staff, the ATLIS presidents, and the faculty supervisor were made.

• Matthew Grant and Allison Coady were invited to attend this annual conference and national ‘Mingler’ as representatives of the Mount Allison Delegation. Sixteen students representing Network Delegations from British Columbia to Nova Scotia gathered in the nation’s capital to participate in this ambitious event that brought together such specialists in the field as Stephen Lewis, Dr. Bertrand Ramcharan, Ed Broadbent, Gerry Barr and Arjun Sengupta, to name a few. The Network Delegates not only participated in the two-day conference, but they were also formally acknowledged before all of the prestigious participants. The Delegates were encouraged to practice their analytical skills as they were asked to note the best moments of their assigned speaker’s speech. This task greatly helped the conference’s video team who transferred highlights from each of the speeches onto the Rights and Democracy website.