By: Kristyn Donnelly
Posted In: News
Photo credit: Donna Harrington-Lueker
The flag of the government of Tibet in exile
Photo credit: Kristyn Donnelly
VIDEO: Tibetan Petition Effort
NEWPORT, RI- Students and faculty at Salve Regina University have taken a stand by setting up a month-long petition signing event in support of Tibetan freedom and human rights in an effort to raise student awareness about the issue.
After a long history of constant shifting between self-government and Chinese oppression, the subject of Tibet and its struggle for freedom has just recently become a topic of global concern. In early March a Monastery of Tibetan monks started holding peaceful protests, calling for an end to the oppression concerning religious freedoms and the liberation of imprisoned monks. As more and more protests began to occur in the well-populated areas of Tibet people around the world were beginning to take notice, and the concern that China may have been violating human rights in Tibet rose to a whole new level. Peaceful protests soon turned to dangerous riots, which the Dalai Lama, known for his denouncement of violence, has been blamed for. According to officials in Beijing, he and his followers have intentionally brought this negative attention to the country in an attempt to disrupt the Olympic Games. Many prominent world political leaders, including Prince Charles, are planning to boycott the Olympics in hopes of being able to pressure the Chinese government into negotiation. During the month of April a petition table was set up at a number of places around campus, generally Miley Hall and the O’Hare building, in hopes to at the very least make students aware of this hugely significant issue. The petition table was set up from April 2 until May 2 featuring one petition that was sent to President George W. Bush, urging him to boycott the Olympics, and another that was sent to the United Nations Olympic Committee urging them to put pressure on China to stop the violence in Tibet and to take responsibility for the human rights atrocities they have been committing. The petitions received over 600 signatures each. Dana Stranz, a junior majoring in International Studies at Salve Regina, said that the idea for petitions was originally sparked by Dr. Stephen Trainor and that they’ve been going strong ever since. The petitions promote a universal social justice, which goes along with the University’s mission, and is an attempt to raise awareness and to bring support to the issue of human rights. “I hope our month-long support for a worthy cause will show students that getting involved is easy and worthwhile if they have the ambition,” Stranz said. She expressed a frustration in a seemingly politically inactive student body. Stranz believes that students are afraid to get involved in even the smallest of ways, by simply reading their petition, or asking questions. She hopes that the Tibet table might inspire them to perhaps educate themselves on the subject and get involved in some way. Dr. Stephen Trainor, dean of undergraduate studies, believes that petitions like the two at Salve, along with all of the protests surrounding the Olympics are huge factors in the prospect of negotiating with the Chinese government. Students are taking the initiative and creating social justice. “Salve students have great social involvement and are politically active,” Dr. Trainor said. Dr. George Antone, director of the International Studies department, thinks that China is allowing self-rule, and that it’s a fundamental disagreement about geographical extent on the Tibetan plateau between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. “It’s a cultural and political conflict and neither side seems to be particularly cooperative,” Antone said. People opposed to China’s apparent lack of human rights are using the situation in Tibet and exploiting the Olympic Games to get their case to the public, according to Antone. China is sensitive to world opinion. He believes that China is changing and that the rest of the world needs to have patience. “I think that what the Tibetans want is reasonable and China is willing to go along,” Antone said. The issue has pushed both sides to hardening their positions, but he thinks that it’s China’s issue and that it should be left to them to handle, and the rest of the world should “just back off”. As far as political activity on campus goes, he didn’t feel that much was really going on.
