By Shannon Hardesty
Staff Writer
A Buddhist, an Irish Catholic and an agnostic walk into a bar, but this joke has no punch line. They are all freedom fighters for the nation of Tibet who have come together despite religious or social differences to form the new student organization called Students for a Free Tibet.
The organization is chapter-based with many activists all over the world. Its goal is to campaign for Tibetans’ fundamental right to political freedom through non-violent action and grassroots organizing.
Leading the campaign is Miles Sterrett, founder of the Purdue club along with fellow students Amanda Piegza, vice president, and Elizabeth Kranc, club secretary. Their primary mission for the new chapter is to make students on campus aware of the problems that are going on in Tibet.
“We’re just trying to get people educated to the situation, and then we are hoping they will feel how we feel,” said Piegza. “As Americans living in one of the richest and most free countries in the world, we should help because we can do things that other countries can’t.”
The Purdue organization has seen months in the planning stages. Sterrett said he had given some serious thought to forming the club, but things really took off once he met Piegza online after signing on to the national group’s Web site.
The three officers have similar reasons for wanting to become involved in the Tibetan quest for freedom. Sterrett, a junior in computer technology, said he became interested after reading a news article about the Panchu Lama, who was imprisoned at the age of 6 because he was destined to become a Tibetan spiritual leader. He is now 13 and still incarcerated.
“If you had never heard about it, you would think that nothing like this could ever happen,” Sterrett said.
Fellow club member Kranc said she became passionate about the Tibetan cause after learning about a Tibetan nun who was imprisoned for practicing her religious beliefs. A few days after her release from prison, the nun was raped by the Chinese military.
“She felt bad, like she did something wrong, like she wasn’t worthy of wearing the robes after she had endured months in jail for standing up for her beliefs,” Kranc said.
The Purdue club plans to work hard to meet goals that will better the Tibetan condition. Sterrett said he has already formed contacts with the well-known activist organization Amnesty International. Sterrett said several representatives of that organization have expressed their desire to come to the Purdue club meetings and join together in generating new ways to help Tibet.
In Tibet, a Buddhist leader faces execution by the hands of the Chinese government for practicing his religion. The Purdue club plans to do its part by sending protest letters to both U.S. and Chinese officials. Piegza, a senior in psychological sciences, said if Tibet eventually wins its freedom, it could be a catalyst for other oppressed countries.
“If diplomatically you could get a country as large as China to back off, it would be a big thing,” said Piegza.
The next meeting of the Purdue chapter of Students for a Free Tibet is at 8 p.m. in Room 1268 of Beering Hall.
