Amnesty International Meets Tuesdays @ Lunch in room 504
Human Rights Night, Wednesday, Dec. 9th 2009
Amnesty International Club is hosting our annual Human Rights Night on Wednesday, Dec. 9th from 6:00-8:30 in the auditorium. The focus this year is on civilian warfare in Southwest Asia/Middle East.
Beginning at 6:00 p.m. we will have a variety of display tables for you to purchase gifts from local markets and ways you can directly support civilians from this region in a proactive manner.
At 7:00 p,m, we will begin the presentations. We will present four main regions Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, & Israel/Palestinian. Each presentation will offer a brief history as to their relationship with the West, current human rights violations as a result of urban/civilian warfare, and ways the citizens are taking initiative to end these violations.
What is Amnesty International and what do members do?
Amnesty International (AI) is an organization devoted to ensuring and promoting human rights for all individuals in the world as outlined by the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights.
Members of AI work towards this end by exposing violations of these rights to their perspective representatives and the public as a whole. In so doing, it also educates people on the issue at hand.
Furthermore, AI and its members create extensive lobbying campaigns to pressure governments, organizations, and/or individuals to stop any infringement of these rights.
AI has existed for nearly sixty years avoiding any affiliation with political, economic, or social organizations that could compromise its primary objective. As such it is considered a reputable organization in the international community for its accuracy in reporting human rights infractions and its impartiality in dealing with violators.
Members of Amnesty International are united by a determination to work for a world where everyone enjoys human rights.
What do members of LHS' Amnesty club do? We meet together every Tuesday at lunch in room 504 to do any of the following:
* Discuss current human rights campaigns
* Participate in letter/emailing campaigns in lobbying government representatives who violate human rights and encourage those to continue supporting human rights
* Determine which human rights issues to expose and educate the student body of LHS
* Participate in activities or demonstrations created/supported by the members
* View and discuss films supporting human rights
* Attend community events that support human rights issues
What have we done in the past year?
* We participate in a 1st Amendment demonstration outside our library the week of Banned Book Week to read books that have been banned and educate the student body on why books have been banned in our country despite our constitutional guarantees.
* We hold an annual Human Rights Awareness Night on or near Human Rights Day, December 10th, to educate the community on a specific human right issue and provide venues in ways the community can help.
* We celebrate Freedom To Marry Day by hosting a wedding reception on or near Valentines Day where we share wedding cake, sparkling punch, and festive wedding music with the students and faculty. We also tie ribbons on our fingers, wrists, and hair to symbolize "tying the knot."
* In the month of April we focus on the campaign called Stop Violence Against Women where we also do a local car wash and donate all money raised to our local domestic violence shelter, Alternatives to Violence.
* We car pool to watch plays from Open Stage Theater at the Lincoln Center dealing with human rights issues, such as A Bright Room Called Day which was about the growth of intolerance during Hitler's rise to power and Exonerated which was about the real life story of six people who were wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to death row.
When can a student join the club?
All students are encouraged to drop in any Tuesday. No one is penalized for missing meetings or not attending community events. This club is purely on a voluntary basis. Everyone is welcome who has a sincere interest in supporting human rights. However, if you have committed to helping on a campaign to be shared with the student body, we ask you to follow through.
How is the club organized?
The LHS Amnesty club is student led and teacher supported. This club does as many or as few activities as decided by the members. Ms. Burch is the sponsor and is more than happy to help members achieve their goals.
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