Students Invited to Clinton Global Initiative University Conference

SUNY Rockland Students Fighting Against Modern Day Slavery
Are Invited to Clinton Global Initiative University Conference

Suffern, NY - As a result of their nation-wide work to end modern-day slavery, Rockland Community College (RCC) Honors Students Mark Svensson and Tarik Abdelqader have been selected to attend the Clinton Global Initiative University 2010 Conference from April 16-18 at the University of Miami.

President Clinton, who is scheduled to speak at the conference, launched the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world. The third annual CGI U meeting will bring together students, university presidents, and national youth organizations to create and implement Commitments to Action across five Global Challenge Areas: Education, Environment & Climate Change, Peace & Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.

Sophomores Mark Svensson of Orangeburg, N.Y., and Tarik Abdelqader of New City, N.Y., have been working on a campaign to bring about awareness and call for more efficient and effective government action against the ongoing crisis of modern day slavery. The two have been leading a letter signing campaign in support of anti-slavery bill, H.R 2522, Congressional Commission on the Abolition of Modern-Day Slavery Act. If the bill is passed, it would establish the first United States commission aimed solely at monitoring and combating slavery in all its forms. The students' goal is to present the signed letters to Congressman John Lewis of Georgia by May 2010.

Abdelqader and Svensson's article, "Slavery Now More Than Ever," was published by the Fellowship of Reconciliation at: http://www.forpeace.net/blog/ethan-vesely-flad/slavery-now-more-ever

For more information about the Rockland Community College Anti-Slavery Committee, contact John Marra, Coordinator of Student Activities and Volunteer Services, at jmarra@sunyrockland.edu or (845) 574 – 4302. 

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Suffern campus map: http://www.sunyrockland.edu/about/campus-guide/map

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Rockland Community College, a unit of the State University of New York, is located 25 miles northwest of NYC. The majority of its students transfer to four-year colleges, and many find immediate employment upon earning their associate's degree or certificate. The College also offers others, from preschoolers to senior citizens, the opportunity to simply learn something new. Quality education...at a price you can afford.