However, most of the attendants and the organizers agreed that the event's most important goal was to raise awareness of the events in Juárez and to encourage more members of the College community to become actively involved.
Over 400 women have been killed in the last 10 years in Juárez, according to most estimates. "No one really investigates it," said Scout Durwood '06, one of the main organizers of the event and a member of the delegation. "We put pressure on corporations and such to donate money to help investigate what's going on."
Members of the Group, dressed in black and pink "Ni Una Mas" t-shirts, served brownies, fudge, cupcakes, pizza and other food donated by local bakeries and restaurants. Folk and jazz music enlivened the atmosphere as attendants ate and mingled.
Last year the event raised $600. Tia Subramanian '05, one of the event's organizers, said that this year's event was more successful than last year's. "The event was a big success. Not only did we raise more than we did last year, I think that this year's event had a more relaxed and social feel to it," she said. "That's partly due to the two fantastic bands-their music provided a really pleasant atmosphere for chatting and dancing."
Subramanian said that credit for the event should go entirely to Durwood. "She was in charge of planning it and worked on it for weeks," she said. "It was an incredible effort on her part: soliciting food donations and gift certificates from dozens of local restaurants, doing press in the Five College area, helping to bake some of the goods and generally coordinating everyone in the Juárez Activism Group who worked on it."
The proceeds, Subramanian said, are going to national awareness-raising campaigns about the situation in Juárez, as well as to the student delegation. "Our hope is that we'll be able to put together and publish some reports with the information gathered," she said. "Very little of the available information is currently published in the U.S., and not many people know about the intricacies of the situation. We're hoping to take some steps in changing that. These murders are a horrific set of crimes, and the politics of the situation make them even more frustrating: the complete refusal of the Mexican government to undertake proper investigations, the U.S. government's lack of action despite the fact that Juárez is a border town with much U.S.-based industry and so on."
Callie Fogler '07, one of the members of the Juárez delegation going to Mexico, said that it is important to raise awareness about the events in Juárez. "Our goal is really to have people recognize the murders in Juárez," she said. "I think we've achieved our goal. It seems like a pretty good turnout."
Fogler also talked about her upcoming trip to Mexico. "We're going to go to Juárez and talk to people and groups and the government and learn more about Juárez," she said. "We're going to participate in International Women's Day and participate in a march in Mexico."
Fogler said that the group's goal was to publish a paper on their findings after they come back from their trip. "We want to share it with the Amherst community, and hopefully our next step will be to share it with the national community," she said.
Students' responses to the event were generally positive. "This seemed like a great idea because it was a nice study break," said Anne Lipton '08. "It's a good excuse to eat chocolate."
Kate Roin '06, who attended the event, enjoyed the food and entertainment and was glad to be able to help support the cause. She also supported the delegation's visit to Juárez. "They had live music, a wide selection of baked goods and pizza," she said. "I think it's great that a group of students is going down to Mexico in an effort to bring attention to the issue; attending their event seemed like a good way to help them out."
Many attendees said that they came to support their friends who helped organize the event as well as to become more active in the community.
"A lot of my friends are involved in the Juárez Group," said Thomas Park '07. "The food is delicious and the music's a pleasant surprise."
The Juárez Group has also been responsible for other events on campus, such as placing crosses on the Valentine quad to represent the women killed.
Durwood, Fogler, and Emily Silberstein '06 make up the delegation currently visiting Juárez. They arrived in Mexico on Sunday for a week-long visit.