Samo Conflict-Free Minerals club advocates "conflict-free" status

Members of Samo’s Conflict-Free Minerals (CFM) Club spoke at a Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Education meeting to advocate the adoption of a “conflict-free” status for the district on Sept. 7.According to junior CFM president Emma Gardner, a “conflict-free” status is one in which a school or district reviews where and how electronics companies acquire the minerals they use in their products. If the measure passes, SMMUSD schools would adopt this status and stop purchasing products with minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the acquisition of these minerals leads to war and other conflicts.“The goal of the Conflict-Free Minerals Club is to spread awareness about our impact on the African Congo,” Gardner said. “Almost six million Congalese have died and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped.”According to Gardner, big electronics companies buy the tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold which inadvertently contributes to violence in Congo.According to club adviser and social studies teacher Douglas Kim, the club has gotten 33 teachers to sign petitions at school. It has also done research about the colleges and universities that have adopted a “conflict-free” status.“[CFM] is really trying to have the school district change the way they buy materials,” Kim said.Gardner said she has a positive outlook about the direction of the club.“We are optimistic that the measure will pass. I’ve talked to the board about this and hopefully in the next month we’ll have another meeting,” Gardner said. “Maybe a few of the other members will get to speak and be policy experts which will add to our credibility.”Board of Education President Ben Allen said that he hopes the club will be able to pass the measure.“I thought it was great,” Allen said. “They came and they gave a very compelling presentation. I was really impressed with the detail and the preparation.Gardner believes that the chance of the measure passing is high.“I am really hopeful that the measure will pass,” Gardner said. “Santa Monica is very liberal, so I believe that the district would be on board with an issue like this.” cdebeus@thesamohi.com