Madison SFT goes to San Francisco!

Most of the members of the Madison chapter of Students for a Free Tibet were in San Francisco as the official Beijing Olympic torch made its only stop in North America.

We had a great time and had time to do some interviews with local Madison media back home:

Tenzin Lobsang Kunor on the 8 O'Clock Buzz (WORT 89.9 FM)

Tenzin Wangyal on In Our Backyard (WORT 89.9 FM)

April 19: Human Rights Torch comes to Madison!

Don't miss it!

Show your support for Tibetans, Falun Gong, Sudanese and all those oppressed by the Chinese government.

Saturday, April 19, 2008
11:00am Torch Ceremony/Speeches – State Capital at State Street
12:00pm Torch Procession down State Street
(from Capital to UW Campus)
1:00pm Rally and Informational Tables – Podium at Library Mall/UW Campus

Please wear your chupa.

Olympian Casey FitzRandolph will carry the torch and State Representative Joe Parisi will speak at the capital.

The Human Rights Torch Relay (HRTR) is an international campaign that seeks to bring an end to all human rights abuses against people in China. During the run up to the 2008 Olympics, the HRTR will sponsor events in 37 countries on five continents to publicize its founding premise:

The Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot co-exist in China.

For more information on the Human Rights Torch Relay, go to http://www.humanrightstorch.org

Madison SFT Member Interviewed by Local Radio Station

March 31, 2008 was a global day of action for Tibet. In Madison, the Wisconsin Tibetan Association and Students for a Free Tibet chapter held candlelight vigils downtown on March 30 and 31.

This drew local media attention to the plight of the Tibetans. Nawa Dolker, member of Students for a Free Tibet, was interviewed by WORT 89.9 FM.

Listen to her 2 minute interview

600 Attend Protest in Chicago and Daily Vigils Held in Madison

On March 18th, over 600 Tibetans and American supporters joined together to show their solidarity with the people of Tibet in downtown Chicago, Illinois. The March began at 10:30am at Water Tower Place and went through the city to the Chinese Consulate, where the protest continued through 5 pm.

6 Buses came from Minneapolis, MN, 4 from Madison, WI as well as numerous individuals from throughout the Midwest.

Towards 3:30pm, one Tibetan man from Chicago scaled the Consulate building and waved the Tibetan flag from the roof for about 2 minutes before two Chinese guards stopped him. They began to pull him and he showed some resistance, at which point one guard kicked him in the leg. This caused a passionate outcry from the closely observing crowd.

Many more media representatives were there then in previous protests in Chicago, and good press coverage was provided in several Chicago area newspapers and television stations.
Article in Chicago Sun-Times
Article in Chicago Tribune

In Madison, Wisconsin an ongoing vigil from morning until 9pm is being held every day at the Memorial Library Building downtown. Please join us!

View Larger Map

Also, Mr. Lobsang Tenzin, President of the Wisconsin Tibetan Association was interviewed on WORT 89.9 FM on March 19, 2008 about the heated situation in Tibet and our response in Madison.
Listen to the interview here (6 minutes)

Tibetan Uprising Day around the Midwest

There are many Tibetan Uprising Day commemorations happening on March 10th, 2008 in the Midwest USA:

Chicago, IL
Minneapolis, MN
Madison, WI
Berea, KY

To get more info please contact:

Tenzin Youdon youdoniscool@gmail.com (Illinois)
Ngawang Dolker dolke001@umn.edu (Minnesota)
Tenzin Tsetan tsetan@wisc.edu (Wisconsin)
Tenzin Drukdak drukdakt@berea.edu (Kentucky)

Donate $10 to SFT before February 1 and SFT can win $50,000!

• Log on to your Facebook account. If you don't have an account already, please open one at www.facebook.com • Once you're logged in, go to: apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/47691 • Donate $10 to the Tibetan Freedom Movement. The $50,000 award will be given away on Friday, February 1st, so please donate before then. In order to win the $50,000 award, which can fund two high-profile direct actions at the Beijing Olympics, we need more "unique" or first-time donors. Please help us find these new people. For tech support, please contact Kala Mendoza, SFT's Grassroots Coordinator and Facebook Commander. Phone: (917) 595-0140 Email: kala@studentsforafreetibet.org What is Facebook's Causes Giving Challenge? As many of you know, we have been presented a unique fundraising opportunity through Facebook. The Case Foundation has committed $250,000 to a donation challenge for non-profit organizations. The way this contest works is as follows. For every 24 hour period until February 1, 2008, from 2pm CST to 2pm CST on the following day, the non-profit organization with the most unique donors wins $1000 from Facebook. Over the 50 day period running until February 1, 2008, the organization with the most unique donors receives $50,000, second most unique donors receives $25,000, and third through fifth most unique donors receives $10,000.

Nangpa La Pass Awareness

video edited by Tashi Eugyal