PhotoBlog for UT's White Rose Society:
thewhiterosesociety.org



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2nd Meeting

Hey all, sorry I haven’t been keeping up with this but this is why we need a historian! So apply! :) I’ll just outline what each position does:

Historian: Takes photos of the events and uploads them onto FB and Tumblr, and also keeps up with the blog. 

Secretary: Takes notes during meetings, helps out a little with other officers’ positions

National Advocacy Coordinator: Keeps up with the current conflicts and finds new action items (for example, calling or writing a letter to representatives in favor of a certain piece of legislation, etc.), and also serves as a liaison between White Rose Society and STAND (the student-led anti-genocide organization). 

If you haven’t already received the applications, simply email any one of the Exec members. (Our emails are on the website: www.thewhiterosesociety.org)

MOST IMPORTANTLY THOUGH:

Our next meeting is on WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th at 6:00 PM at BEN 1.126.

Be there or be lying around your dorm room smelling of Doritos! Or just come and join us whilst you smell of Doritos, your choice. 

ALSO:

Upcoming Events:

  • CONGO WEEK : Oct. 18-21. A week of tabling and events concentrating on the Democratic Republic of Congo. More information will be sent out soon, but it’s still in the planning process! If you have any ideas of fun/informative things we can do, be sure to come to the meeting and share them :]
  • Kristallnacht (“The Night of Broken Glass”) : Around Nov 9th. We’re creating a wall of separate pieces of Plexi-glass that will be joined together in order to send a message of tolerance. We will all get to paint the glass at the meeting beforehand and at tabling that day we will give paint so people passing by can sign their names, etc. on the wall.

Since nobody reads this, I feel like I need to start adding in pictures. Maybe of baby animals.

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the new year!

Hey guys, the new school year starts in a few days and I hope everyone has had a great summer full of trashy reality TV and bad tan lines.

Many things have happened over the summer in the realm of human rights such as Bashir getting indicted for war crimes (finally) and the creation of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry in Burma - two things for which we have been tabling and calling in our representatives!

In other news, if you’re a general body member or a new student who wants to get even more involved in the White Rose Society, there are still positions open such as Historian, Secretary, and National Advocacy Coordinator.

I’ll keep you updated about when the next meeting will be and the happenings. Relish your last moments of freedom!

When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?

- Eleanor Roosevelt

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Day 3:

Day Event: Grilled Cheese Challah!! Selling grilled cheese for $1 each going towards the Genocide-Intervention Network (correct me if i’m wrong?) Guess who was tabling with us?! Our very own speaker for that night Micah Bournes!!

Night Event: Micah Bournes passionately speaks about the devastating war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and how the U.S. and other countries are fueling it by funding the armies who are using tactics of rape, murder, and other forms of violence to sustain power and wealth. How are we funding them? Through companies which buy minerals such as Tin, Tantalum, Tungsten, and Coltan (which are used in our phones, laptops, chargers, etc.) from the DRC. How can you help? Call your representative to support the Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009, which calls for making it mandatory for companies to show consumers exactly where these resources are coming from, essentially making it a wise business decision to buy from somewhere else. After a lengthy discussion/Q&A session, Micah performed a few of his own poems, unrelated to this matter.

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Symposium: Overview

Day 2:

Day Event: Sign postcards to Obama concerning the Sudan Elections that started this weekend - We want Obama to disapprove of them since unfortunately they are a sham due to the military regime’s manipulation of the voting process. For more information, go to www.sudansham2010.org!

Dr. Magilow, editor of a diary/documentation of a young girl who died in the Holocaust. His main point was to see the Holocaust victims as who they were instead of who we would have wanted them to be (i.e. Anne Frank’s diary was edited by her father to take out the parts dealing with her sexuality). The purpose of his presentation was to reveal that the victims of these crimes against humanity were HUMAN not angels, they made mistakes, they were curious about themselves, they went to the bathroom, they were living breathing human beings with the same problems we have.

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Quick overview:

Day 1 :

Day Event: Calling representatives of your city to support House Resolution 898, a bill that (1) Calls for a commission of Inquiry investigating war crimes and human rights violations in Burma, (2) hold Burmese military dictators accountable for these human rights abuses, and (3) a global arms embargo against Burma.

Night Event: Aga Nya, Burmese Monk that participated in the Saffron Revolution, and Michael Haack, who works for the U.S. Campaign for Burma. The Oscar-nominated documentary, Burma VJ, was shown in the beginning of the lecture, then a first-hand account from Aga, and finally a political history and stance presented by Mr. Haack. **Coming up soon, White Rose is having a movie night when we are watching Burma VJ** Bring popcorn and blankets, etc. More info soon!


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Human Rights Symposium April 5th - 8th!

White Rose Society is proud to present the fourth annual symposium on human rights, diversity and genocide issue. The symposium will not only inform the participants, but aims to empower participants to chose action over apathy, interaction over separation, intervention over isolation and dialogue over silence. 

 

April 5th

11-2: Burma Call in Day (West Mall)

We will be out at the West Mall with FREE t-shirts for calling representatives urging to vote in favor of House Resolution 898

7-9pm: Agga Nya (WCH 1.120) - Burmese Monk who participated in the Saffron Revolution.

April 6th

11-2: Holocaust Passports
 (West Mall)

Leearn the story of Holocaust victims and actions that can be taken to prevent future atrocities

5-7pm: Daniel H. Magilow (AT TEXAS HILLEL, 21st and San Gabriel)  - Author who wrote about the life of a young girl who died in the Holocaust.

April 7th

11-2: Grilled Cheese Challah (West Mall)

Learn about Conflict minerals and ways you can make a difference. All while enjoying delicious Challah grilled cheese.

7-9pm: Micah Bournes (WCH 1.120) - Rapper/Slam Poet who urges to enforce human rights concerning Congo’s conflict minerals.

April 8th

11-2: Child Soldier Wall (West Mall)

Join us in constructing a wall begging to stop the use of child soldiers worldwide.

7-9pm: Sean Carasso (WCH 1.120) - Founder of Falling Whistles

So bring your friends, get some grilled cheese and free t-shirts, learn about human rights violations and how you can help, and choose action over apathy. 

For more information, visit our website: www.thewhiterosesociety.org 

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Peeekchas from 10,000 Roses, the rest are on facebook!

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10,000 Roses this week!

It is possibly the most spectacular moment of resistance that I can think of in the 20th Century… The fact that five little kids, in the mouth of the wolf, where it really counted, had the tremendous courage to do what they did, is spectacular to me. I know that the world is better for them having been there, but I don’t know why. - Lillian Garrett-Groag in Newsday (22 February 1993) [about White Rose, the Anti-Nazi German resistance group started by students]

Hey guys, our annual 10,000 Roses event is finally here! For those who don’t know what it is, every year we hand out 10,000 roses in remembrance of those who died on the first day of the Holocaust - each rose commemorates one of the 10,000 lives taken. 

 

So, we’re dethorning the roses Wednesday at the Phi House (25th and Rio Grande) starting at 6 PM, and it will go on for probably a few hours depending on the number of people helping (right now, we’re saying about 11, but you don’t have to stay the entire time!). Bring your friends! It’ll be fun! We’ll play music and be really awesome and stuff and yeah…do it.

Then on Thursday we’re handing out the roses on West Mall, Speedway and 21st, and Speedway at Dean Keaton from 10AM - 4PM. So come and help out!!

(Sorry! I had the dates wrong at first!)

Any questions,etc.?! Leave a comment! :)

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The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn. Sophie Scholl, creator of White Rose, the Student-Led Anti-Nazi German Resistance Force