Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) has joined 14 other higher-education institutions in supporting companies that use conflict-free minerals.<\/p>\n
On March 13, 2013, the EMU president\u2019s cabinet approved the conflict-free resolution presented by Eastern Mennonite\u2019s Conflict-Free Campus Initiative. The resolution states that the university “will support companies that use conflict-free minerals, specifically in the area of hardware-technology purchasing and consumption.”<\/p>\n
Conflict minerals include: gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum. These minerals come from areas of violence and conflict, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These minerals are used in cell phones and laptop computers and can finance multiple armed groups, many of whom use violent and inhumane methods to capture areas rich in minerals, possibly facilitating more conflict.<\/p>\n
EMU is the first Mennonite higher-education institution to sign the initiative. Other participating schools include Stanford, Duke, Emory and the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
The Conflict-Free Campus Initiative on campus was founded by Josh Kanagy, a senior psychology major from Timberville, Va., and Julia Schmidt, a senior history major from Pandora, Ohio, in the spring of 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to see this movement continue to spread and ultimately see an end to the war in the Congo,\u201d said Schmidt in an interview with The Weathervane, EMU’s student-run newspaper.<\/p>\n