Invisible children rally promotes student activism, positive protests
The Syracuse University Quad acted as the ‘abduction’ site for the start of the Invisible Children rally, lead by Sean Wrench Saturday afternoon. Invisible Children is an organization dedicated to the awareness of the 23-year long war happening in Uganda, in which children are being abducted and forced to fight.
It’s good to know that there are still people who are passionate about issues not directly concerning themselves. Wrench stood in the middle of the Quad and asked students how they would feel if their little brother or sister were kidnapped and made a soldier.
The world-wide rally, which took place in 100 cities in nine different countries, attracted 100 to 150 people from the SU Quad. Followers then walked 1.7 miles from the Quad to Clinton Square in downtown Syracuse, where Congressman Dan Maffei acted as the ‘mogul,’ drawing attention to the cause by ‘saving’ the participants and explaining their efforts to others. The final turnout of supporters was about 300 people.
Starting the rally in the Quad was a great idea in order to gain support of students who otherwise would have been unaware of the event. Walking to Clinton Square helped the cause, showing Syracuse that the university wants them to get involved, and proving that SU doesn’t just view itself as students, but also as part of the Syracuse community.
Any sort of positive action against a wrong-doing should be praised. This event was to bring awareness to an event which isn’t quite as known on the radar and gives an outlet to students and members of the community alike to bring light to the war in Uganda.
Despite the increased amount of supporters, the event could have attracted an ever larger crowd had there been a more recognizable ‘mogul.’ Celebrities like music group Fall Out Boy have acted as the ‘mogul’ in some of the bigger cities, attracting thousands to the rallies.
With Guster on campus since Friday for the Block Party, it might have been clever to have approached them about acting as ‘moguls’ as a way to boost attendance for the rally even more.
While getting a congressman involved is an excellent endeavor, hopefully next year Wrench can find someone a little more in touch with the younger crowd. Some better planning and a little more effort from the community could potentially multiply the attendance for next year.
