Cow-kissing competition sparks awareness

Author: Johanna Interian

If you think kissing farm animals and social justice have nothing in common, then perhaps a human rights club's fundraiser will change your mind.

Middlebury's chapter of Amnesty International, a global organization whose mission statement is to "protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied," is hosting "Kiss the Cow" on Battell Beach on April 30.

As part of the fundraiser, President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and four First- year Counselors have agreed to kiss the animal responsible for Vermont's livelihood. In light of recent controversy surrounding human rights violations in the state's agricultural labor, the cow was an appropriate choice.

The club arranged to rent a cow from a local farmer and will be collecting donations at the dining halls in the coming week in order to make the event possible. In addition, Amnesty is currently raising funds to be able to sponsor more events and activities aimed at promoting human rights awareness on campus.

In November, Co-Presidents of Middlebury's Chapter of Amnesty International Veronica Muoio '11 and Phoebe Shang '11 embarked on a 27-hour van ride to Fort Benning near Columbus, Ga. There, they joined members of other social justice organizations to rally for the closing of the School of the Americas, a military facility that has been associated with teaching terror techniques to its students.

In November 1989, graduates from the School of the Americas murdered six Jesuit priests from El Salvador, and there is a weekend demonstration held there every year in that month as a tribute. Each year, the number of protestors rises.

"Last year, 20,000 people came, but [the school] has not closed yet," said Muoio.

A fence was erected surrounding the institution in order to keep the demonstrators out.

"Every year, the nuns symbolically step over the boundary lines in protest," said Shang. "The nuns also read off the names of people killed by graduates of the school."

The co-presidents would like to have the School of the Americas trip be an annual event with more student participation.

"Next year, we'd like to reach out to more people on campus," said Muoio. "That's part of why we're inviting new lecturers."

An Amnesty-sponsored lecture on Wed., April 22 in Dana Auditorium attracted environmentally conscious students. Issues discussed dealt with sustainable agriculture in developing countries, and specifically with women farmers and environmental degradation in Darfur. The lecture was led by Fatima Ahmed, leader of the organization Zenab for Women in Development, and Vivian Stromberg of MADRE, a women's human rights organization.

Amnesty also tries to raise awareness and encourage action through writing campaigns.

"We wrote to State Secretary of Northern Ireland Shaun Howard about Patrick Finucane, an Irish civil rights lawyer who was killed 20 years ago. His case was never very thoroughly investigated," said Shang.

The club's main goal now is to increase student membership and also to gain participation from faculty and staff. To do this, the leaders plan to have more activities to encourage people to bring in their opinions on issues they care about.

"I think next semester, it'd be great to get faculty members more involved