By Colin Sharp
Due to the overnight success of the charity Invisible Children’s #KONY2012 campaign and their associated video, SFU’s international studies department has decided that anyone who watched the video should be awarded a full degree from the program.
Thanks to social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, the video and the campaign were shared with millions of people over the last few days. Anyone who watched the 30 minute film was exposed to absolutely every relevant piece of information about the entire conflict, and is now able to make highly informed and intelligent decisions without doing any further research. It is a remarkable accomplishment by the director, especially since he spent a third of the film talking about himself and his kid instead of the actual issue.
The international studies program has recognized the impact of the film and determined that they really don’t have anything else to contribute.
“Yeah, the video kind of nailed it,” said Joshua Russel, the department chair. “I don’t think any of us in the program have anything left to add. I mean, how much benefit will people get from understanding the other side of the argument or the history of conflict in the area? Let’s just focus on killing the one dude instead of working on the larger problem.”
Critics have questioned international studies’ decision to award these degrees, suggesting that it cheapens the importance of actually knowing things in academia. International studies has responded by saying that these people are all being cynics and if they question the cause then they might as well be personally handing out AK-47s to African children.
Despite the controversy, supporters that are new to the campaign are thrilled to be part of such an important cause. When asked what he thought of Invisible Children’s methods in Africa, supporter Cameron James told The Peak, “These t-shirts are super cool.” When we asked the question again, slowly and using extremely simple language, James said “Oh man, and these bracelets are rad. You gonna buy an action kit bro?”
Invisible Children is a group seeking to raise awareness regarding the war crimes of Joseph Kony, a Ugandan warlord who has been using child soldiers in his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) since 1986. A major part of this is an extensive worldwide postering campaign planned for April 20th. Presumably this is so they can target stoners, a group known largely for their ability to quickly and effectively accomplish goals.
If you have watched the film, international studies is encouraging you to contact them regarding your degree. If you haven’t seen the film, but are still interested in turning your activism into a degree, the education, criminology, and earth sciences programs are all awarding transfer credit for that time you raised awareness about violence against child by changing your profile picture to a cartoon.
