Blog post written by Rebecca Anne Dixon
Mount Allison’s Student Chapter of the Sentinel Project has had an active semester of
fundraising and raising awareness about genocide in the Sackville community. Following a
successful stint running the coat check at the campus pub, the group set up a table at the town’s
Midnight Madness winter fair and sold out in just over two hours. They sold homemade votive
candle holders and roses made of dried leaves, both of which proved very popular. Each of these
small gifts included a story of a survivor of genocide. This was a way of reminding people of the
individual and human face of the problem and of sharing the experiences of victims in Armenia,
Cambodia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and the Holocaust.
To counter the heaviness of these stories the group also made pamphlets explaining the Sentinel
Project’s work and emphasizing that genocide is predictable and preventable. Throughout the
evening these sparked many a discussion with passing students and residents.
To date, the Mount Allison Chapter has raised close to $250 and we have one more event before
Christmas! Many thanks to Amanda Bergmann, Philippe Blanchard, Bri Miller, Emily Lewis,
Sebastian Chiasson, and Rachel Gardner for their participation this semester.