Students For A Free Tibet is a small group on campus that focuses on the cultural preservation of Tibet. The region formally known as Tibet was invaded by China in 1949. As a result of the communist take over of Tibet, much of Tibet's unique culture has been threatened and even destroyed. On Skidmore Campus there is little that Students For A Free Tibet can do to directly affect the issue of Human rights violations and degradation of Tibet's culture. In fact, there is little that the world can do. These atrocities can only be resolved from the people within, those that are directly involved in the situation. These abominations can only be stopped by those who perpetrate the crimes.

The name itself "Students For A Free Tibet" at times can be misleading. We are not here to "Free Tibet" but instead we are here to free students from misconceptions. We are here to prevent the people from thinking that what has happened in Tibet has been in any sense "right." Students For a Free Tibet is here to raise awareness in our culture about what has happened in Tibet's past.

Our main initiative has been raising money for the Tibetan community in the village of Leh in the Ladakh region of Northern India. Ladakh, bordering western Tibet, has long been an area of Tibetan people and culture. In the past few years our fundraising has gone directly to support the education of a monk working for his Geshe degree, an eye operation for a nun, and the building of a nunnery. We have personal contact with the beneficiaries of this money. The monk has visited and lectured to the Skidmore community and our former SFT president and one of our faculty advisors traveled to Leh to learn and work. Our other faculty advisor often travels in India, China, and Tibet in his research.

In addition to our primary efforts of fundraising, we work to educate the Skidmore campus and Saratoga community about the problems that Tibet as a country and Tibetans as a people are currently facing. Also, we take part in the campaigns that the international SFT organization is working on such as human rights issues in China, barring the economic exploitation of Tibet, and freeing political prisoners.