Amid the mixed chants of “Congo is the key to our humanity” and “Go Pack Go,” Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers joined campus organizations to raise awareness of the Congolese mineral conflict on the Memorial Union Terrace Monday.
The event, which was sponsored by the Conflict-Free Campus Initiative, the Enough Project and Amnesty International, featured speeches from Rodgers, “Entourage” actress Emmanuelle Chriqui and Packers linebacker and Congo-native Andy Mulumba. Other groups including the Wisconsin Union Directorate, UNICEF and the Campus Women’s Center also sponsored the event.
Speakers at the rally urged students to pressure the University of Wisconsin-Madison to purchase its electronics from companies that have pledged to use conflict-free minerals in their products, including cellphones and laptops.
In addition to winning a National Football League MVP award and the 2010 Super Bowl, Rodgers said he wanted to be remembered as more than just a “great football player.” He said he wants to make an impact on people around the world and said college students are the key to mobilizing change.
“I remember being a college student at Berkeley coming from a small school, you learn so much about yourself,” Rodgers said.“[College] is a different level of consciousness and you realize you can have an opportunity with the platform that you’ve been given to make an impact.”
Echoing Rodgers’ message, Chriqui said UW-Madison students have the power to pressure electronics companies to solely use minerals that are collected ethically and work to end the human rights abuses in Congolese mines.
“You students are the voice of change and you should be so very proud of yourselves,” Chriqui said. “The fact that you’re here right now, you’re effecting change.”
Mulumba, who Rodgers deemed the “greatest Congolese football player in history,” thanked UW-Madison students for attending the rally and supporting the cause that works to bring peace to his home country.
“On behalf of the Congolese people, we are really grateful,” Mulumba said. “You don’t have to go to Congo to make an impact, everything you do here will have a direct impact to what’s happening in my country.”
