Sometimes campaigns at the college level are drawn out and take a great deal of time and energy. In the middle of the summer I began working on a resolution to introduce at the first meeting of the Muhlenberg Student Council. The resolution called for a divestment of Muhlenberg funds from the "highest offending" companies working in Sudan to perpetuation the genocide in the Darfur region.

Hard work pays off, over time. It took a few weeks to get it passed through the Student Council (with all but one vote) followed by meetings with administrators, articles in the student newspaper, and meeting with a group of members of the Board Of Trustees.

Over half a year later, the Board of Trustees voted in favor of the following resolution to:

not knowingly make direct investments with Category One highest offender companies engaging in business in the Sudan as defined by the Sudan Divestment Task Force.  Furthermore, if Muhlenberg commingled investments are invested in Category One companies, letters will be submitted to managers of these funds requesting that they consider removing such companies from the fund or create a similar actively managed fund with commingled holdings devoid of such companies.

With the announcement that the Sudanese government under President Omar al-Bashir is close to reopening negotiations with rebel groups in Darfur, promising a ceasefire in the meantime, the Sudanese people along with the rest of the world may finally see and end to the violence in sight. But we must not get our hopes up quite yet. Several attempts at peace including an actual ceasefire have all lagged and eventually broken down completely over the last three years as genocide has continued in Sudan. As the report details the upcoming negations in Libya, it is hard to believe that this time around any agreement will stick as the government has yet to acknowledge their support of the Janjaweed militias who carry out the genocide. Bashir’s rhetoric about bringing an end to the nearly decade long conflict have amounted to nothing but hollow promises. His Islamic government has financed and supplied the Janjaweed militias for several years in their attempts to destroy all existence of the non-Arab African population in the western Darfur region. As the African Union remains largely ineffective in containing the violence, constrained by weak mandates and poor logistical support, the UN now stands to beef up its police force in the Darfur region.

Getting universities to divest from companies doing business in Sudan in ways that support the genocide in Darfur has been one of the hottest campaign issues for student activists on campuses around the country. (It has also been one of the most closely watched topics on Campus Progress, which has published at least this, this, this, and this on student-led divestment movements.)

Fresh on the heels of its green issue featuring Leo DiCaprio with an adorable baby seal, Vanity Fair has devoted July to Africa, with U2's Bono acting as symbolic "guest editor." I admit I was skeptical at first, especially considering the glossy adds for Product (Red)--Bono's effort to donate a percentage of profits from consumer goods to health care in Africa--throughout the magazine. And the Brad Pitt interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu is unreadable. But I highly recommend Sebastian Junger's reporting from Chad on China's growing economic influence in Africa and support for the genocidal Sudanese regime. Junger highlights fears on the continent that over-reliance on Chinese construction, labor, and oil investments will create a neo-colonial relationship. And he points out that the United States' blockage of China's attempt to purchase UNOCAL forced China's hand in pursuing oil reserves in beyond-the-pale Sudan. A reminder that energy policy is a crucial aspect of our foreign policy. And that climate change and poverty and genocide go hand in hand.

The profile of Jeffrey Sachs is interesting if you don't already know a lot about him. I also wouldn't miss "The Lazarus Effect," which details exactly how the uber-slick Product (Red) campaign works: The advertising dollars are drawn from each company's marketing budget (Gap, Apple, Converse, etc.), so no charity funds are going toward PR. And so far, Product (Red) leather jackets, watches, iPods, and such have raised $25 million to provide Africans with anti-retroviral treatment for HIV/AIDS. (I just can't figure out why those annoying parentheses are part of the name).

If you make it through all this, the excerpt from Tina Brown's new book on Princess Diana is pretty absorbing. Who knew she was secretly in love with a Pakistani heart surgeon?