Student leaders of Positive Foundations, an activist club aiming to change the world through a set of goals set by the United Nations, brought a crowd of about 350 people to its feet on the Great Lawn Sunday afternoon as part of a worldwide campaign to fight poverty.The focal point of the event occurred at 4:40 p.m., when participants at rallies in over 100 countries stood up in unison in an attempt to achieve the Guinness World Record for the most people standing up against poverty.

From the steps of the Shapiro Campus Center, Sam Vaghar '08, a Positive Foundation coordinator, led attendees in chanting "unity stops poverty" ten times before rising from their seats on the wet grass.

"We wish to set a record today for the number of people standing up to demand action on poverty," Vaghar told the crowd, "but the record we really want to break is the world's record of breaking promises and just ignoring the poor."

Vaghar spoke of the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, a set of objectives established by the United Nations six years ago. They include eliminating extreme poverty, promoting gender equality, making primary education universally available, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases, promoting the conservation of environmental resources and developing a global partnership for development.

Seth Werfel '10, a coordinator for the event, informed the crowd that the ultimate goal of Postive Foundations is to provide economic support to a village in Africa through the Millennium Villages Project, a collaboration between the United Nations and the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

"Think about the world that [the impoverished] wake up to everyday and now think about the world that we wake up to everyday," Werfel said. "We have the power . to lift 5,000 people out of extreme poverty."

Vaghar said the rally attracted around 340 people from local communities, including Waltham, Boston, Framingham and Worcester. Green Party gubernatorial candidate Grace Ross and Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy were also in attendance.

Werfel said he was inspired by Sunday's event, which was Brandeis' first step in fighting extreme poverty.

"The empowerment that we witnessed will fuel us in the years to come as we seek to eradicate poverty one campus and one village at a time," Werfel said.

The event began and ended with sets by The Totally Awesome Super Sexy Funk Groove Project, while Brandeis mascot Ollie the Owl engaged the crowd in the damp, cloudy afternoon weather.

Following the band's first set, Prof. Can Erbil (ECON) took the stage. Erbil said he believes the eight interdisciplinary Millennium Development goals are a serious attempt to address significant world problems.

"I think the Millennium Development Goals have a strategy that we all use when we try to take on something difficult," he said. "What I do, and I know what many of you do when you are trying something difficult, is you try to divide it into pieces that are manageable."

Following Erbil, Positive Foundations member Jonathan D'Oleo '08 gave a speech in which he impressed upon the crowd the importance of taking action against poverty.

"If you are not a part of the solution, you certainly are a part of the problem," D'Oleo said. "Everything you have, you have received from someone else. You might as well give some of that back."

Vaghar said those in attendance can now begin to talk about extreme poverty, now that they know more about the issue.

"This is both an opportunity and a responsibility and the people living in extreme poverty demand and deserve all the action that we plan on taking.