By Benjamin Fu & Carl Zielinski

Gargoyle staff reporters


Posted May 1, 2007, The OG, news

UNITED FOR UGANDA'S Mr. and Ms. Uni Contest has been officially canceled.

In its place, UFU will show the film “Blood Diamond” starting at 6:45 p.m. Saturday in the North Attic.

There will be a brief discussion before the movie is shown.

UFU is a student organization dedicated to helping Uganda's “invisible children” — former child soldiers who were forced to fight for the rebel Lord's Resistance Army in the Acholi region of northern Uganda.

Back in December, Mr. Uni started as a fundraising idea. It would be a contest similar to a beauty pageant, with about 15 competitors.

However, UFU changed the contest to include females when some of the male contestants began dropping out due to scheduling conflicts, leaving fewer than 10 contestants.

A sign-up sheet for the competition, scheduled for Saturday, May 5, was posted on the door of the student lounge two weeks ago, but due to lack of participants the show was canceled.

The show would have consisted of a talent portion and a question segment. For the latter, the judges were to ask each contestant a question related to current affairs in Uganda.

Judges for the competition would have included two teachers and two student members of UFU. The winner of Mr. and Ms. Uni would have received both a crown and a bouquet of flowers.

Saturday's showing of “Blood Diamond” will be UFU's second movie night in as many weeks.

The group showed “The Last King of Scotland” on Wednesday in the North Attic. The film, starring Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, depicted Ugandan life in the 1970s under the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Admission to the movie was free, but UFU raised $93 through food sales and donations.

“Blood Diamond,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is set in Sierra Leone in 1999. The story of DiCaprio as an ex-mercenary in search of a rare diamond is set against the backdrop of civil war and the role of the diamond trade in financing that bloodshed.

“The political commentary is relentless,” wrote Gargoyle staff reporter Andrew Lovdahl in his Dec. 13 review of the film. “The scenes depicting the suffering in the diamond mines and the training of the child soldiers are nothing short of devastating.”

Admission to Saturday's movie is free. Any money raised through the sale of food or donations will go toward the Schools for Schools project.

“Blood Diamond” is rated R. Permission slips for students under 18 are available in Assistant Director Sue Kovacs' office.

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