Student group advocates for human rights

Bryant’s Amnesty International chapter conducts letter-writing campaigns to raise awareness of social problems.

Bryant’s chapter of Amnesty International hopes to prove that influencing others does not necessarily require large numbers of people.

The student-run group of about 10 committed members is part of the international organization that works through letter-writing drives and peaceful protests to bring awareness to human rights abuse around the world.

During the fall semester, about 30 students took part in a letter-writing drive. Amnesty International taught students about social issues in the Dominican Republic, Uganda, Pakistan, and Darfur, and provided them the tools to make appeals to government officials to end human rights abuses. More than 40 letters were sent to leaders around the world.

“I have learned the value of participation in government through peaceful activism,” says Katie Gorham ’09 (Perry Hall, MD), Amnesty’s treasurer. “Our method of letter-writing might seem insignificant, but one look at Amnesty’s ‘successes’ proves that our efforts do work, if slowly, and is inspiration for any kind of activism I might be involved with over the course of the rest of my life.”

Amnesty International, a worldwide organization with more than two million members, credits letter-writing appeals with influencing the United Nations to endorse a moratorium on the death penalty, facilitating the release of an American doctor of Iranian descent who was captured during a visit to Iran, and aiding the liberation of political prisoners in Ethiopia, among other success stories.

“I became involved in Amnesty because I am concerned about human rights violations around the world – especially those that are encouraged and supported by governments,” says Alyssa Bowen ’08 (Ashford, CT), Amnesty’s secretary. “I wanted to find a way to participate and end these wrongs.”

Meredith Archambeault ’09 (East Sandwich, MA), Amnesty’s vice president, says, “I wanted to learn more about these social problems around the world and do as much as I could to inform others about these issues so they don’t go unnoticed.”

During the fall semester, the group also sponsored a screening of the film “Invisible Children,” which documents the plight of children in war-torn Uganda and hosted Wolfgang Form, a renowned human-rights expert. Form is the research director of the International Research and Documentation Center for War Crime Trials at the University of Marburg in Germany. The group is planning another letter-writing drive for the spring and hopes to organize a “Human Rights Day.”

Wolfgang Form

Peter Connors ’08 (Manchester, CT), who took an interest in political and social causes in high school, joined Amnesty International during his first year at Bryant. He says his involvement in the group has helped him to understand the interconnectedness of people throughout the world.

“Amnesty has taught me to question myself and my actions,” he says. “I constantly wonder how the money I spend and the actions that I take affect the many issues I learned about through the organization.”

The group meets every Monday at 5 p.m. in the Heritage room in the Bryant Center. New members are always welcome

“I urge others to take actions to make continued change in the world, and to speak up for what they consider are important issues,” says Kathryn Varis ’09 (Guilford, CT), Amnesty’s president.

To learn more, visit Amnesty International.