NEWS ARCHIVE
Students Caught Red Handed
Students at Falmouth Marine School have been doing their bit to bring attention to the important work of Amnesty International.
At the beginning of the month the Cornwall College Student Union committee at Falmouth Marine School invited a local member from the organisation to answer questions about the work of Amnesty International and the various campaigns they support. The team set up a special stall in the Sails Café so all students and staff had a chance to meet the representative as well as gather information on the work of the organisation, whose purpose is to ‘protect people wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied'.
In order to further heighten awareness of the cause and bring attention to the activities taking place on site, the committee encouraged students to take part in creating the Amnesty symbol using their bodies. On the ramp leading from the car park down to the courtyard outside the Sails Café, 16 students, dressed in white overalls, lay on the ground creating the symbol. This demonstration sparked up lots of interest from both staff and students who wanted to know more about the work.
Later in the month the committee also held a ‘Red Hand Day'. On a stall in the Sails Café, staff and students were invited to have their hand covered in paint and then to print their hand-print on piece of A4 paper and sign them. The prints were hung on the Sails Café wall as a symbol of support for the global campaign to end the use of child soldiers. The red hand is also seen as a sign showing solidarity with the children who are in the midst of conflict in other countries.
Many staff and students got involved on the day with their hand prints covering almost an entire wall of the Sails Café. The prints were left on the wall for a week above a stall with information regarding the work of Amnesty International to further raise awareness of the cause.
Tim Fitter, CCSU Falmouth committee Chairman, said: "It was great to raise the awareness of such an important issue, as many students like myself live in somewhat of a bubble, not always knowing or understanding all the terrible things that are happening around the world."
Dave Linnell OBE, Principal of Cornwall College, commented: "It's good to see students getting involved in such worthy causes and coming up with activities to raise awareness of important issues."
