Random Acts of Kindness battle organized acts of cruelty

D. Clark Denison, Staff… Random Acts of Kindness battle organized acts of cruelty

D. Clark Denison, Staff Writer

The Random Acts of Kindness fair isn’t necessarily random.

“We do this every semester,” admits RAK President Janelle Maysilles.

But still, you never quite know when RAK’s free cookies and finger paints will pop up downstairs in the William Pitt Union.

Students who were lucky enough to spot the signs directing them to the assembly room were treated to free soda, make-your-own greeting cards and were entered in a raffle for prizes donated by local businesses and RAK club members.

Greg Guinan, a Pitt senior, took time out of his busy day to make a finger paint collage with RAK.

“I saw an opportunity to make some artwork,” Guinan said between dabs of colorful tempera paint. “It’s a good thing.”

Beyond events like Monday’s fair, Pitt’s RAK club works to brighten the days of Pitt employees and community members as well.

“We just like to do nice things for people,” Maysilles said.

Students don T-shirts for Darfur

Maria Masters, Staff Writer

When Chris Taylor donated money to an advocacy group last week, he got more than just a free T-shirt.

In Darfur, more than 400,000 people have been killed in acts of mass violence, in addition to widespread rape, torture and destruction of villages, according to a Web site affiliated with Students Taking Action Now, Darfur.

STAND – the Pitt branch of a national advocacy group – has been giving away T-shirts for donations in Towers Lobby for the past couple of weeks to promote awareness about the war-torn region of Sudan.

“Since STAND has been doing their campaign,” Taylor said, “I have been reading the news every day [about Darfur].”

According to STAND member Cara Baldari, the group has sold more than 300 T-shirts in the past two weeks.

Many people have also told its members that the campaign has “opened their eyes” to the Darfur genocide.

Currently, the group has raised more than $700 and plans to donate the money to the national STAND organization.

“There are so many people that came up to the table and said, ‘We really appreciate this,'” Baldari said.

SGB sponsors Pittsburgh Diversity Resource Fair

D. Clark Denison, Staff Writer

The first day of real spring weather may have had something to do with the low turnout at the Student Government Board’s Diversity Resource Fair, which was cooped up in the William Pitt Union Monday.

However, SGB’s Diversity Committee Chair Joe Salvatore remained optimistic.

“The students that have come are very enthusiastic,” he said.

The fair featured various local organizations whose missions are promoting and increasing diversity.

The fair’s broad scope provided a wide assortment of organizations whose concerns ranged from GLBT awareness to African-American culture.

Selena Schmidt, of the Coro Center for Civic Leadership, said that diversity doesn’t just refer to race.

“We are concerned with gender, socio-economic status, education … the list goes on,” Schmidt said.