Students write to leaders regarding Sudan

About 100 East Valley Middle School students who studied the Holocaust took aim with words against modern-day genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The students wrote letters this month to President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris and to MSNBC asking them to take action and raise public awareness.

Their letter-writing also led to a visit to EVMS Wednesday by a Sudanese native studying at Eastern Washington University.

“What bothered me is this has happened before and no one did anything, and it’s happening again,” said EVMS student Samantha Shivvers, before listening to Khalid Abuzaid, an EWU graduate student in public and business administration.

Raised in a mid-southern Sudan region east of Darfur, Abuzaid is a member of the Nuba Mountain tribe. He shared some history behind fighting and current problems stemming from conflicts between Arab tribes and indigenous people. Genocide has also occurred in Nuba Mountain and southern regions other than Darfur, he said.

“The fighting is about power and the (oil) wells,” he said, adding that members of Arab tribes and non-Arab tribes would appear the same in terms of skin color to those outside Sudan, but they have different cultures and languages. “The problem began when the British left in 1956 and left Sudan to Arab tribes.”

Indigenous people have wanted a say in the country’s government and share in its wealth, he added. “Sudan is in a process of redefining its true identity … The unfortunate victims of the indigenous revolution are children, women and the elderly.”

Each year, East Valley School District eighth-grade students must learn to write business letters. EVMS classes wanted this year’s correspondence to make a difference, said teacher Julie Scott. She and Loriann Howe both teach a Holocaust unit.

“We’ve never had students so motivated and so excited to write business letters and put so much work into them,” Scott said. “They put their heart and soul into this because this situation really bothered them.”

Before writing, students watched a DVD about reported atrocities in Darfur, torn by violence since 2003, where an estimated 1.5 to 2 million ethnic Africans have been driven from their homes by local militias and 100,000 to 400,000 thousand have died.

The students wrote about the reports they studied: that militias thought to be funded by the Sudan government are called the Janjaweed by villagers and that these Janjaweed use government helicopters and trucks to attack villages. Women and young girls are gang raped, and villages burned, the student letters said.

“The Sudan government denies having any participation in this genocide, but Americans have captured photo evidence that they are indeed guilty,” wrote student Samantha Cruz.

“Studying the Holocaust has taught me not to be a bystander. I believe if people knew about the horrific events occurring in Darfur, then more people would help in doing something about it.”

Many students talked to parents about their letters, Scott said. One parent who knows Abuzaid from EWU offered to invite him to the school.

Abuzaid, who answered children’s questions, said he approved of the students’ efforts to raise awareness. He plans to return to Sudan. “I want to go back and help my people.”

Lasagna dinner Friday

The Second Annual Summit School Auction and Lasagna Dinner is scheduled Friday. The public is invited from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Some dinner tickets are still available at the door.

The $4 lasagna dinner will be held in the cafeteria at Evergreen Middle School, 14221 E. 16th Ave., from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A silent auction begins at 5:30 with more than 100 items ranging from hotel packets to YMCA membership. The auction table closing times for bids are staggered. A live auction is set for 7:30.

The evening also will offer drawings, desserts from $1 to $2, and Starbucks coffee available by donation to benefit the school. For more information, call 228-4050.

Spelling bee Wednesday

Eleven Spokane Valley students will represent their school in the Valley Spelling Bee scheduled Wednesday at Bowdish Middle School.

These students earned their spots after wins in spelling contests at individual schools. They include: Alyssa Dorr, seventh-grader at East Valley Middle School; Christian Blauer, eighth-grader, Bowdish; David Finkel, eighth-grader, Horizon; Josh Taylor, eighth-grader, Valley Christian; Katrina Henning, sixth-grader, North Pines; Zane Allinger, eighth-grader, Evergreen; Brianna Clark, eighth-grader at Valley Adventist School; Kelley Shaw, eighth-grader, Greenacres; Ryan Bischoff, eighth-grader at Gethsemane Lutheran; Andrew Carter, seventh-grader at Mountain View; and Matt Bauman, eighth-grader, Centennial.

Freeman FBLA competitors

Freeman High School Future Business Leaders of America members competed in the FBLA NE Region Winter Competitions Feb. 1. The 15 members were: Stephanie Watson, Audrey Fish, Lauren Nooner, Stacy Sainsbury, Cameron Moore, Teresa Beyl, Hannah Lally, Sarah Moore, Rebekah Stranberg, Jesse Hoopes, KC Cross, Jacob Floch, Ty Thomas, Danny Mathews and Anthony Emtman.

The following FBLA members qualified for the state FBLA conference to be held April 13-15 in Seattle: Sainsbury – third place in Public Speaking I; Mathews – first place in Public Speaking II and third place in Impromptu Speaking; Emtman – third place in Computer Concepts; Thomas – second place in Impromptu Speaking; and Stranberg – first place in Job Interview and second place in Banking and Finance.

U-Hi’s Nate Thompson honored

University High School senior Nate Thompson recently won a top scholar-athlete award, the Ray Flaherty Award, at a Jan. 17 National Football Foundation Awards Banquet at the Davenport Hotel.

Thompson started at offensive tackle for three years in a row. He was a 2005 first team Greater Spokane League team member and was 2005 team captain. He is also a three-year varsity basketball player and three-year varsity track athlete.

While keeping a 3.77 grade-point average, he is a National Honor Society member and an Eagle Scout. Thompson has done numerous community service projects including a drive to collect 1,800 playground balls for children through the Spokane Valley Food Bank, as part of the Seahawks Qwest Statewide Leadership Challenge 2005. For that challenge, he was named one of two “Winners of Challenge” in Washington.