Ten students at Duquesne University went on a 24-hour hunger strike on Tuesday to protest the lack of humanitarian aid to the Sudanese region of Darfur for people living through genocide. Students Taking Action Now in Darfur (STAND), a national student effort, wore tie-dyed T-shirts reading “Hunger Strike,” passed out literature explaining the purpose of their actions, and encouraged others to make a sacrifice to show solidarity. Students were inspired to engage in a hunger strike by actress Mia Farrow, who pledged to go 21 days without anything but water to protest the Sudanese government expelling foreign aid. The Red Cross, United Nations and ten other agencies were forced out of Sudan after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many of the students were part of Duquesne's chapter of Amnesty International and the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition (PDEC), and several members went to Washington, D.C., last weekend to encourage the U.S. government to take action in Sudan.

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