Members of the Haiti Connection at Eastern and the Newman

Catholic Center will fast for six days beginning Friday, March

25.

The purpose of the fast is to stand in solidarity with the

School of the Americas Watch’s Days of Resistance, said Roy

Lanham, campus minister and director for the Newman Center.

The Haiti Connection is a group of activists who stand against

non-violence in Haiti and South America, Lanham said.

The School of the Americas was established in Panama by the

U.S. Army in 1946. It was set up to train soldiers from foreign

nations, especially those in Latin America and the Caribbean, a

press release said.

The purpose of this training was to teach the soldiers

democratic values.

“The students have researched the School of Americas and they

really wanted to do this (fast),” Lanham said. “Every 24 hours

a new person from the group will fast.”

He said one member of the group will attempt to fast by only

consuming liquids for the entire period of six days.

Lanham said the last time Haiti Connection participated in the

fast was 1995.

“Fasting is about linking yourself to a cause,” he said. “It is

about connecting yourself with the oppressed and the hungry.”

People are invited to get involved by attending the vigils,

rallies and fasting that will occur in Washington D.C. this

coming weekend for the Days of Resistance, Lanham said.

He said he is proud of the connection’s participation in the

Days of Resistance.

“The beauty of the fast is that we are going to stand against

nonviolence.”