ASU Student Organizations Raise Human Rights Awareness

As students sit in comfortable, taking lecture notes or updating Facebook statuses, millions of people around the world are suffering the depletion of their human rights; rights that are sometimes taken for granted.

According to the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no human shall be tortured, exiled or enslaved, and all humans have the freedom of property, thought, speech and the right to work.

These seem like simple rights to have, but in reality these rights are not attainable for all global citizens because of war and government interference.

Many human rights issues are on the minds of ASU students today including the genocide in Darfur and fair trade among farmers across the world. For these reasons, many students from across all four campuses have banded together to improve human rights all around the world in a local way.

Organizations such as Global Politics Students (GPS), Community Outreach and Advocacy Refugees (COAR), and United Students for Fair Trade address issues across the globe in order to change the world. Defending human rights is a major foundation for these students and it is their core basis for educating and raising awareness.

Drawings by children experienced human rights conflicts. Photo by Branden Eastwood.

An open forum for global discussion

Political science sophomore Noelle Beydoun started Global Politics Students during the Fall 2009 semester in order to open a non-partisan discussion about current issues such as the war in Afghanistan, the protests in Iran and the conflict in Darfur.

“It’s an open dialogue to discuss and debate these issues,” Beydoun says. “We discuss policy reforms and think of good ways to solve these problems from here on campus. We have international students with international experience and they tell us about the politics.”

GPS member and political science senior Gustavo Pizarro says he likes the organization because of the diversity of the students in the group and the things he learns about government policies and cultures of other countries.

Pizarro is a first-generation American, whose parents emigrated from Peru. He says due to his family’s history in a different country, he has always been interested in global politics, especially subjects relating to immigration and refugees.

“A lot of the times, the issues we talk about are not the hot story of the day,” Pizarro says.

Beydoun says through GPS, group members are participating in Michael Crow’s Seven Challenges, specifically “How do we defend and extend human rights?”

In addition to opening a forum, Beydoun and fellow GPS members are planning a fund raising event for the spring semester, featuring Kerry Kennedy, the founder of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

“It’s a really ambitious idea and event, but we’re working very hard on accomplishing it,” Beydoun says. “I definitely think we can pull it off.”

The proceeds from the event will go to future events to raise awareness and a scholarship for those who study human rights and social justice.

“I think it’s very important to become more and more ‘globalized’ because we’re a much smaller world now. You can’t just say it’s happening over there in a different country. We have the power to make a difference.”

Pizarro and Beydoun agree that change can take place right here on campus.

“We are thinking globally, but acting locally,” Pizarro says. “We’re just trying to make a difference.”

GPS meets every other Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. at ASU West CLCC room 154.

Fair Trade Across Economic Divides

Students and staff attend "Camp Darfur" at ASU West. Photo by Branden Eastwood

According to the Make Trade Fair advocacy group, fair trade is a “trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade.”

“Fair trade promotes an economic system that is equal for producers and the environment,” says Kim Pearson, asustainability sophomore and president of United Students for Fair Trade. “It ensures work is safe, producers are paid fair wages and organics are made without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).”

USFT, established last year, holds a variety of fundraisers to raise awareness about the production and consumption of fair trade products.

Most recently, the organization raised money at Cartel Coffee Lab, which donated 25 percent of proceeds to sustainability organizations across the valley. They also held a fair trade fashion show on campus sustainability day on October 21 in collaboration with USG Green Team.

USFT reaches out to the general public with a booth during First Fridays and shows documentaries on ASU campuses to raise Fair Trade awareness.

Pearson says buying fair trade products is a start in supporting economic policy change. Fair trade products are known to be a bit more expensive, but Pearson believes that paying extra is for quality and the guarantee that a human was not exploited while making the product.

“When you buy fair trade, you’re paying with a peace of mind,” Pearson says. “You know when you buy it, there was no child labor, no slave labor and the environment is being cared for. When you buy quality, you don’t need to buy it so frequently.”

The United Students for Fair Trade meet every Monday at 7 p.m. in the Tempe Barrett Honors Dorm Room Cereus 101.

Tents at "Camp Darfur." Photo by Branden Eastwood

Giving refugees a second chance in a new environment

Community Outreach and Advocacy for Refugees (COAR) is an organization at ASU Tempe campus and West campus that works with refugees in Phoenix during their assimilation into American culture.

COAR was established in 2002 and has since expanded into an independent non-profit organization with an office on Mill Avenue. COAR lends a helping hand to refugee families and high school students.

“COAR really is a friendship program,” says  Kelli Donley, executive director of COAR. “Volunteers step in at a pivotal moment in these families’ lives and offer friendship. It sounds simple, but it’s wildly successful.”

There are three programs within COAR, the Reaching Higher Program, the Volunteer Anchor Program and the Awareness and Adovocacy Program.

COAR Programs director and ASU West chapter vice president  Rema Beydoun has worked with the organization since 2007. She is currently in her first semester in the Social Justice and Human Rights master’s program. In past years, she has worked with an Iraqi family as part as the Volunteer Anchor Program and also a Cuban refugee high school student as part as the Reaching Higher Program.

COAR was present at “Camp Darfur” at ASU West on November 18 and 19. Camp Darfur was a collaboration of many campus human rights groups. Tents were set up in order to provide a simulation for students to see a glimpse in the life of a refugee from Darfur.

“Volunteers are the bread and butter of organizations like this,” Beydoun says. “It’s very important to have events like [Camp Darfur] to raise awareness. It’s what keeps this at a local level. You don’t have to study abroad or fly somewhere to help out and make a difference.”

Donley and Beydoun said that the simplest task can be the most impacting on a refugee’s life.

“It can be as complicated as filling out a FAFSA form for their eldest son to attend school or as simple as signing up for a library card to pick up a book to learn how to read,” Donley says. “They appreciate any help.”

COAR is not a resettlement agency, but works directly with Lutheran Social Services and the International Rescue Committee.

“The community support is where they [refugees] really fall short,” Beydoun said.

For more information on how to become a COAR volunteer, visit: www.coarweb.org.

Reach the reporter at erica.m.rodriguez@asu.edu .

Tagged as: COAR, Darfur, fair trade, global politics, Student Organizations, volunteer