Oxfam discusses effects of mining on rural communities

The Oxfam club at IU will promote awareness of rural and impoverished community rights at a 7 p.m. panel discussion Wednesday in the Georgian Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.

The event, co-sponsored by Coal Free IU, is centered on the Right to Know, Right to Decide campaign, an initiative developed by Oxfam America, a global organization that fights poverty, hunger and injustice.

The panel will feature professors from Maurer School of Law, Kelley School of Business, School of International Studies and Department of Communication and Culture, who will discuss the effects of oil, gas and mining industries on rural
communities.

“The campaign calls for communities to be consulted about how extracted industries will operate,” said Emily Metallic, vice president of Oxfam club and IDS employee. “They have the right to know what is going to happen to their community and the right to decide if they should be allowed to operate on their land.”

Since IU Oxfam began in 2011, the student organization has worked to spread awareness of the relationship between extracting industries such as oil, mining and gas, and the rural communities they often operate in.

Oxfam, which paired with Coal Free IU due to the topic’s relevance to coal-mining, is also working year-round on the Grow campaign, an effort to create a more sustainable food system in the IU and Bloomington community.

“In the Grow campaign, we can take steps in our own lives,” Metallic said. “But with the Right to Know, Right to Decide campaign, it’s hard to take concrete actions in your everyday life. The first step to understand the campaign is to educate students on what is going on.”

The club has weekly meetings 7:30 p.m. Mondays in Woodburn Hall. The meetings are open to the public.