In honor of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Ithaca College’s chapter of Amnesty International will hold a daylong event featuring presentations, film screenings and art installations from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday in Emerson Suites.
Senior Kendra Sundal, co-president of Amnesty International, said the group is teaming up with other campus organizations including the Campus Anti-War Network, STAND: National Students Anti-Genocide Coalition and Hillel to raise awareness of human rights issues around the world.
“It’s a way of bringing all these different clubs together and showing people there’s a lot more activism than we think,” she said.
As part of the event, Amnesty International will present a quilt the group made that features 30 squares of different articles of the declaration. Students can also make birthday cards with their own wishes for human rights for the next 60 years and mail the cards to the United Nations.
There will also be a film screening of “Justice Without Borders,” a documentary film about human rights abuses, and a vigil in remembrance of victims of abuse throughout the world. Sundal said there will be an open-microphone time, and all are welcome to discuss concerns about human rights.
“At times, we can feel very isolated on campus, but you can get involved to help international issues,” she said. “We want people to talk and get involved. That’s the goal.”
Patricia Rodriguez, assistant professor of politics, will give a presentation about her experience in the School of America’s protest that took place Nov. 23.
She said she hopes students in the audience will realize the significance of getting involved in activism.
“Human rights is a very important issue in the world today, and it needs to continue being so,” she said. “It’s important to go beyond the realm of school activism and to go out into the real world and see what activism is all about.”
Beth Harris, associate professor of politics, will give a presentation about human rights issues in Palestine and Gaza.
“Human Rights Day gives us a chance to look at communities whose rights are being violated in often very intentional ways and to help call for the protection of their rights,” Harris said.
The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted Dec. 10, 1948, by the United Nations General Assembly in the aftermath of World War II. The declaration recognized the inalienable rights of humans and stated no one shall be held in slavery, subjected to torture or discriminated against because of race, sex, religion, political opinion, national origin or birth status, according to the U.N.’s Web site.
Junior Briana Kerensky, co-president of Amnesty International, said the event is a great way for the campus to not only honor the declaration but also notice how relevant the declaration is to current events, such as Guantanamo Bay and the genocide in Darfur.
“A lot of people think IC can be apathetic, and this will show we can band together and commemorate something important,” she said. “But at the same time, we should also notice that the Universal Declaration is faulty and has serious problems. It’s not being enforced. It’s [the event] basically saying, ‘U.N., wake up. You made this document, now use it.’”
Rodriguez said she agreed that the Universal Declaration is often ignored concerning
human rights.
“There’s all these ways to go around the issue and not really implement the commitment [countries] have got themselves into in signing the declaration,” she said.
Hillel, the college’s Jewish community, will present posters at the event on how the Jewish community has responded to genocides since the Holocaust, with an emphasis on Darfur.
“After the Holocaust, the Jewish community said, ‘never again,’” Kerensky, who is also president of Hillel, said. “And Hillel will show what the community has done to make sure another genocide does not take place.”
Sundal said she hopes the event will make more students on campus want to get involved to raise awareness of human rights issues.
“There’s nothing like finding out how many people around you care about something,” she said. “We can make a difference.”