Avondale, Arizona – November 4, 2011 – The students of the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society at Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) have invited San Diego’s Invisible Children volunteer team to present their nationally acclaimed documentary “Invisible Children: Rough Cut.” The film will be followed by a robust discussion and update of the war in Uganda.
The honor society students of Phi Theta Kappa at EMCC wanted to share this compelling story with the campus and community to raise global awareness and consider the ways of impacting change, even if it’s just through listening and learning. As part of their mission, the society encourages development of leadership and service through the exchange of ideas and ideals. The Invisible Children story fit this opportunity of engagement perfectly.
“We selected this topic because it demonstrates democratization of information: power, peril, and promise,” says Kasey Senlouangrat, co-vice president of scholarship from EMCC’s Beta Alpha Xi Chapter. “Children in Uganda have been forced to become soldiers and live in impoverished slavery. That’s unacceptable in our advanced world of today.”
This special campus evening presentation will be held Tuesday, November 8 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Community Room of Estrella Hall on the campus of EMCC located at Dysart and Thomas Road in Avondale. It is a free event and open to students, faculty, staff and the community.
The Invisible Children organization started when three young filmmakers from Southern California traveled to Africa and discovered a tragedy that disgusted and inspired them, a tragedy where children were both the weapons and the victims. After returning to the States, they created the documentary "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," a film that exposed the tragic realities of northern Uganda’s night commuters and child soldiers.
The film has now been seen by millions of people. The overwhelming response has been, "How can I help?" To answer this question, the non-profit Invisible Children, Inc. was created, giving impassioned individuals an effective way to respond to the situation. Since “Invisible Children: Rough Cut” was filmed in 2003, night commuting has ended for the children of northern Uganda.
Beta Alpha Xi, the Estrella Mountain Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, has achieved an outstanding Five Star Ranking since forming in 1995, and, over recent years, has earned recognition as one of the most active chapters in the statewide Arizona Region of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.