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Students unite for human rights

Weber State University’s Human Rights Club announced its relaunch on Jan. 24. This club is the WSU branch of Amnesty International, a student-led club whose primary goal is to foster education on the suppression of human rights.

The Human Rights Club, a branch of the Amnesty International, meet weekly to discuss the matters most important to the club. (Weber State University)
Members of the Human Rights Club, a branch of Amnesty International, meet weekly to discuss the matters most important to the club. Photo credit: Weber State University

Associate Professor Stephanie Wolfe, who has been a key member within this non-profit since 2014, describes the group as “an international human rights organization that assists all over the world.”

The organization is for anyone who wants to take action and be heard.

“Participating in this club gives me a voice. I feel really safe in this environment,” Floricela Anguiano, the club president, said.

During the meetings, members discuss everything from missing indigenous women to the negative impacts of fast fashion. Students choose topics that interest them to explore, gain experience and find opportunities to take action. Wolfe utilizes her connections throughout the campus and community to bring the students’ goals to fruition.

For the past several years, the club has participated in Write for Rights, a campaign hosted by Amnesty International. Write for Rights has participants writing and signing letters to people who have been imprisoned for defending their human rights.

The goal of these letters is to place pressure on the governments imprisoning these people. The club plans to continue the tradition this year. The times and dates of this event are to be decided.

The club believes that the event assists in educating peers about the injustices that occur in real time.

The primary goal of the Human Rights Club is to foster
The primary goal of the Human Rights Club is to foster education on the suppression of human rights. Photo credit: Weber State University

“Learning about someone else our age helps bring light to the fact that there are a lot of people out there fighting for their human rights,” Anguiano said.

This semester, the club created a partnership with Catholic Community Services to help with the Congolese and Afghan refugees’ resettlement in Utah. According to the CCS website, they are providing an orientation educating those who chose to participate in the resettlement process and other ways to support the program.

Wolfe said it’s exciting to see how the student-planned events come together and that the students are inspiring.

The Human Rights Club is having Janicke Stramer-Smith, assistant professor of political science, give a lecture on the current situation in Afghanistan on Feb. 10 at 12:30 a.m.

They are also hosting a refugee event where a panel of individuals who are educated on the process of refugee resettlement discuss the subject. There will be personal anecdotes from a student who was a refugee as well. This event is scheduled for Feb. 22 at 5:30 p.m.

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