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BY BREE BANG-JENSEN

In print | November 6, 2003

When Jane Roberts first heard that President George W. Bush had decided to withdraw the United States’ $34 million pledge to the United Nations Population Fund, she was furious. "In the middle of the night, I thought ‘By golly, there must be 34 million people who would each be willing to give a dollar.’ "

The next day, Roberts began the 34 Million Campaign. She sent a letter to her local paper, urging people to give a dollar to UNPFA. She spoke to family and friends, writing, e-mailing and calling everyone she knew.

Roberts’s lecture on Monday focused on grassroots movements and her role in the 34 Million Campaign.

Roberts said she had traveled to Mali and Senegal to see firsthand how the campaign funds were being used.

“More women die in childbirth over a few days than people die from terrorism in a whole year,” Roberts said.

She opened her talk Monday night by showing the assembled students the kits passed out in developing nations to promote a sterile birth and reduce risk of infection and infant mortality. They consisted of simple materials such as a sterile plastic sheet, soap, a razor to cut the umbilical cord, and string with which to tie it.

Since Roberts founded the 34 Million Campaign 14 months ago, she has raised over $1.5 million to replace the United States’ pledge.

UNPFA promotes reproductive healthcare education and access. Roberts believes the real reason behind American refusal to support the fund lies in Bush’s desire to “please his radical right and anti-UN supporters.” Throughout the presentation, she emphasized the necessity of population control.

Rotaract sponsored the lecture as the beginning of a series focused on bringing prominent individuals in public policy to campus.

Rotaract President Doru Gavril ‘05 said these lectures would "present a different type of activism. Swarthmore students are somewhat skewed to protesting and picketing buildings for two hours, then going back. That’s good, and it has its place, but it is not enough." These lectures will highlight grassroots activists like Roberts as well as members of Congress.

The organizers were not worried by the small turnout, citing last-minute advertising as the probable cause.

Students who did attend were enthusiastic. “On a campus like Swarthmore, where so many kids are interested in politics, it is incredibly important to realize how effective grassroots movements can be,” Chris Ford ’07 said.

Swarthmore students donated $120 to the 34 Million Campaign.

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