Bejing We Are Ready!

Dec 10th Human Rights Day

The importance of International Human Rights Day Listen

8-10 AM - Banner Hang "Beijing We Are Ready"

5-8 PM - Humanities Building

• SFT
• Falun Gong
• New China forum presents documentaries on human rights abuses in China followed by a candle light vigil.

5:30 PM - Gather all the Tibetans at the Memorial library

6:00 PM - All the Tibetans and their supporters will gather at Library Mall to conduct a candlelight vigil. They will walk the candle light through state street
to the downtown where the WTA will give a small speech and so do we (Students for Free Tibet). While we doing the candle walk, two people from WTA
will be sitting back by the area between library mall and book store and will show a movie. The movies include the Congressional award for his holiness and the Nangpa-la pass.

8:00 PM - We will all gather back where the movie will be playing. After getting their people can leave i suppose.

SFT have to get the permit from the state to show the movie. WTA said they informed the state about the procession during the candlelight vigil.

Radio Interview and new, exclusive I Heart Tibet t-shirts

This morning Students for a Free Tibet members T.K. and Abi were interviewed on WORT 89.9 FM. They spoke about the upcoming Talent Show and White Tee Dance Party fundraiser, Blood Over Nangpa-la, and why the upcoming Beijing 2008 Olympic games are important.

LISTEN

Also, we will be selling exclusive I Heart Tibet t-shirts at the fundraiser this Saturday. These were designed and made by one of our members, Tarzan, and there are precious few. So be sure to show up early to get yours.

Fundraiser Talent Show and White Tee Party

The Madison chapter of Students for a Free Tibet is having a fundraiser on Saturday November 17 to raise money for Beijing Olympics activists. The 2008 games are coming up fast, and Tibet supporters need to show their support for the cause now more than ever.

Talent Show

James Madison Memorial High School
201 South Gammon Road
Saturday, November 17, 2007
5:00 - 7:30 PM

$10 general admission
$7 for 6 - 12 year olds
Free for children under 6

The Talent Show will include performances by local Tibetan singers and dancers, Hindi dancing, and more. We will also be showing the 20 minute documentary Blood Over Nangpa-la.

White Tee Dance Party

Neighborhood House
29 South Mills Street
Saturday, November 17, 2007
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM

$10 without a white t-shirt
$8 with a white t-shirt on

This party will not only have an awesome DJ and dancing, it’s gonna look awesome. Wear a white t-shirt and the black lights we have all over the room will make you glow like a star.

Wisconsin Tibetan Radio airs next month!

After months of planning, the first episode of the Madison Tibetan radio hour will air in Madison, WI on Friday October 12, 2007 on Madison's new LPFM station, WIDE 99.1 FM.



For more information, please visit the Wisconsin Tibetan Radio website.

You can also get the Wisconsin Tibetan Radio podcast.

Lhadon and Tendor Visit Madison

The Fall 2007 semester has started and we are already working hard!

The weekend before school started, Labor Day weekend, we attended the Mangtso Duchen, or Tibetan Democracy Day picnic. It was a beautiful late summer day with lots of momos and conversation.

Then on Sunday, September 2nd, over 100 local Tibetans gathered to hear Lhadon Tethong and Tenzin Dorjee of Students for a Free Tibet speak about their experiences fighting for Tibetan freedom within China and Tibet.

Wisconsin Public Radio reporter Gil Halsted was there to interview Lhadon and Tendor, and filed this report:

Tibetan Exile Rally
By Gil Halsted
Monday, September 3, 2007

(MADISON) Tibetan activists organizing protests surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympics were in Madison on Sunday. More than 100 members of Madison's large Tibetan exile community turned out to support the efforts of Tenzin Dorjee and Canadian-born Lhadon Tethong. The two spoke about their plans to use the Olympics to shine a light on what they call China's illegitimate control of their country.

Thirty-one-year old Lhadon Tethong was just deported from China for running a pro-Tibetan blog. At one point, she says thirty Chinese security police were trailing her around Beijing. She says Tibetan exiles like those in Madison can help promote Tibetan independence during next summer's Olympic Games by holding peaceful protests at the Chinese embassy in Chicago. She says the effort will be to make sure that the moment that China is trying to convince the world that Tibet belongs to them, Tibetans and those that can use their voice living in freedom and say 'no, we actually speak for Tibetans inside Tibet, and what's happening inside has to change.'

Brown University graduate Tenzin Dorjee was arrested this spring for displaying a pro-Tibetan banner at the Mount Everest base camp on the route China plans to use for the Olympic Torch run. He hopes next summer's games will be a focus for international protest in support of
Tibetan independence, to show the world and the Chinese government that unless China is out of Tibet, China can never really enjoy the glory and social standing acceptance that he says they so much desire.

China annexed Tibet in 1950 leading to a mass exodus of many Tibetans to India and other parts of the world. Tibetans plan their own Olympics in India and have asked the International Olympic Committee to allow for a Tibetan exile team to send athletes to the Beijing games.

This article was also posted on Phayul with some more pictures of Lhadon and Tendor.

Summary of Spring 2007 semester

University of Wisconsin-Madison Students for a Free Tibet had our most ambitious and successful semester in recent memory. At the beginning of the semester we made a laundry list of goals. To our own surprise, we were able to reach the majority of these goals (China hasn't left Tibet, so our work is not done yet :)


Buddhist monks from Soquel, Cal. watch a street artist on State Street in Madison, WI.
On the Front Page of The Daily Cardinal on May 4, 2007.


Our Press This Semester:

February 15, 2007
Wisconsin State Journal
The Dalai Lama Will Speak At Kohl Center In May
by Heather LaRoi

February 15, 2007
The Badger Herald
Dalai Lama to visit city
by Peter Sielski

March 12, 2007
The Badger Herald
Madison rallies for ‘Free Tibet’
by Peter Sielski

April 24, 2007
The Capital Times
Mixing Integrity, Sustainability
by Mary Bergin

April 26, 2007
Wisconsin State Journal
Tibetan Flag Sparks Controversy
by Patricia Simms

April 26, 2007
The Capital Times
Plan To Raise Tibet's Flag Here Raises China's Ire
by Pat Schneider

April 27, 2007
The Capital Times
Tibetan Flag Will Fly Despite Flap
by Pat Schneider

April 27, 2007
Wisconsin State Journal
Tibetan Flag Will Fly In Madison
by Patricia Simms and Brittany Schoepp

April 27, 2007
The Badger Herald
Concern arises over flag display
by Courtney Johnson

April 28, 2007
The Capital Times
Flying Tibet Flag Just Neighborly
Editorial

April 29, 2007
Wisconsin State Journal
We Need To Resist Chinese On Tibet
by John Nichols

April 30, 2007
Wisconsin State Journal
Madison Shouldn't Fly Tibetan Flag
by William Wineke

May 1, 2007
Wisconsin State Journal
Flag For Tibet, Not For Soldiers
Opinion by Charles R. Clarke, Boscobel

May 2, 2007
The Badger Herald
Tibetan flag flap should blow over
by Jack Garigliano

May 2, 2007
The Badger Herald
Tibetan student speaks on campus
by Peter Sielski

May 2, 2007
The Daily Cardinal
Tibetan speaks to students before Dalai Lama’s arrival
by Marly Schuman

May 3, 2007
The Badger Herald
Dalai Lama begins city tour
by Courtney Johnson

May 3, 2007
The Daily Cardinal
Mayor, state Reps. Black and Parisi meet with Dalai Lama

May 3, 2007
The Daily Cardinal
Dalai Lama to address sold out UW crowd
by Lara Sokolowski


Returning members:

• Hilary (Midwest Regional Coordinator)


• Tom (Chapter Coordinator)


• Annie


• Abi


• Asius

What We Did This Semester:

January 4 - 10, 2007: Tom, Asius, and Abi attend 9th International Free Tibet! Action Camp in San Diego.

January 18 and 20, 2007: Hilary, Tom, and Abi draft goals for Spring 2007 semester.

January 29, 2007: Info Table at Student Organization Fair in Memorial Union.

January 31, 2007: Kickoff. We had 4 interested students attend, including 2 new members:

• Allison


• Tina

February 4, 2007: Tibetan Movie Night at Hilary's house. We watched Windhorse.

February 9, 2007: Creation of UW SFT blog!

February 14, 2007: Valentine's Day Inventory Party at Abi's house and tour of our Union South office.

February 24, 2007: Tom, Asius, Hilary, and Abi attend the Wisconsin Tibetan Association's Losar Party.

March 2, 2007: Hilary and Abi go to Madison Avenue club to reach out to young Tibetans, especially promoting March 10th demonstrations.

March 5, 2007: Weronika, Hilary, Annie, Tom, and Abi have an info table at the International Women's Day Film Screening in the Memorial Union.

March 7, 2007: Allison, Annie, Asius, Hilary, Abi, and Tom meet to get ready for March 10th demonstration and end up making a commercial. Watch the commercial.

March 10, 2007:

• Asius and Weronika attend Madison demonstration.
  
• Tina, Hilary, Abi, and Tom attend the Chicago demonstration. See pictures.

March 12, 2007: Tom speaks at Amnesty International (Madison chapter) meeting

March 21, 2007:

• Wisconsin Tibetan Association's Vice President, Jampa Khedup-la, speaks at our weekly meeting.


• Tenzin attends our meeting and joins our chapter.

April 12 and 14, 2007: Info Table at Wisconsin Film Festival's screening of Tibet: A Country in Exile.

April 14, 2007: Dechen Tashi-la has SFT members over for Lunch.

April 17, 2007:

• Abi holds Taco Bar lunch fundraiser at her work.
  
• Tom, Hilary, and Abi attend the Madison Common Council meeting where the Tibet Flag resolution is voted on. Hilary spoke in support of the resolution, along with local Tibetans and Tibet supporters. The resolution passed unanimously.

April 18, 2007: Hilary holds Taco Bar lunch fundraiser at her work.

April 20, 2007: Tenzin, Tom, Allison, Asius, and Annie hold pizza fundraiser in front of Social Sciences building on UW campus.

April 21, 2007: Hilary speaks in front of the Tibetan Alliance of Chicago about the Panchen Lama and Beijing 2008 Olympics.

April 22, 2007: Tom, Tom's brother Nick, Asius, Abi, and Hilary receive a teaching from Geshe Sopa-la at Deer Park Buddhist Center.

April 25, 2007: Allison, Asius, Tom, Annie, Hilary, and Abi hang banners reading: "WHERE'S TIBET'S PANCHEN LAMA?" and "NO OLYMPICS BEIJING 2008" from a bridge on campus during rush hour.

April 27, 28, and 30, 2007: Info and Merchandise Table at the Orpheum Theatre during their screening of Vajra Sky Over Tibet.

April 29, 2007: Annie, Tom, Hilary, Asius, Abi, and Jampa Khedup-la hold a service focused on Tibet and Buddhism at Prairie Universal Unitarian church.

May 1, 2007: Tenzin Dickyi gives her presentation "Land of the Melting Snows" on the UW campus.

May 6, 2007: End of the Year Tapas Party at Hilary's house.


During the summer many of us will be traveling and resting after a semester well done. But we can still be reached by email: sft.uwmadison (at) gmail.com

Also, you can join our events email list to receive an email notification of our public events.