Spring Break
D.U. student attends Power 100 Summit
Stephanie Takach
Issue date: 2/13/09 Section: News
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"On Capitol Hill on Monday, ONE students asked members of Congress to take concrete steps to make United States' development efforts more effective and contribute to agricultural productivity in areas where many face starvation," Tom Hart, ONE's director of Government Affairs, said. "These meetings let lawmakers know that ONE's members are committed to these issues and united together to make sure that the world's poorest people are not forgotten."
"By speaking out, you are helping to make sure that the world's poor, especially the children, are not invisible and forgotten," said Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) in a video message for Power 100 attendees."
As part of the conference, Carol John was able to lobby Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) about their contributions to the issue of global poverty.
According to John, Casey currently has a bill in Congress regarding global food security. She encouraged [the Senators] to continue working to resolve the issue of global poverty.
John earned a spot at the Power 100 Summit in Washington due not only to her efforts at raising awareness on Drexel's campus about the crisis of global poverty and the solutions that exist, but also her urging of students to press their government leaders to do more in the fight against poverty and her work as an intern with the campaign.
At Drexel University, John held a bright orange t-shirt campaign. The front of the t-shirts displayed the word "ORPHAN, " acting as a visual representation of the one in 20 children in Africa that die everyday from AIDS.
"It puts things into perspective," John said. "If you were to see a person who is wearing an orange shirt and were to think that person would be dying, it would be more realistic."
She said her attempts to raise awareness at Drexel University have been fraught with difficulty; nevertheless, she voiced her desire to partner up with more local universities in Philadelphia for the purpose of creating more campus awareness.
"ONE is not a charity; we're just an advocacy campaign and we ask people to get on board if they are interested," John said. "We may not be able to do something really big, but if one by one we were able to make a small difference, we would be able to make a big difference."
ONE has gained much of its publicity from celebrity support. In fact, John said she joined the organization when she found out that Bono, the famous singer of the band U2, was a spokesman.
Moreover, the ONE Campus Challenge was launched in September 2008 with the help of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. In the ONE Campus Challenge, a nationwide competition among colleges and universities, students earn points by engaging in social activism. The winners are listed in ONE's top 100 schools.
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