Colorful posters have begun popping up around Northwood, each promoting a different day in an upcoming event: Human Rights Week. Created by the Girls Learn International Club (GLI) in 2017, Human Rights Week is now run by the Human Rights Club. The Omniscient talked to members of the Human Rights Club to find out the goal of the week.
“The purpose of Human Rights Week is to grab the attention of the student body and get them thinking about the [human rights] topics of each day,” junior co-president Samantha Cohan said. “I hope that Human Rights Week helps people become more aware of current events as well as get them interested in Human Rights Club.”
Human Rights Week will run from May 24 to May 28. Each day of the week is dedicated to a different cause: Monday to climate rights, Tuesday to racial equality, Wednesday to women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights, Thursday to world peace, and Friday to educate students on their rights. Human Rights Club will be holding an in-person meeting open to all students on Tuesday, May 25 to participate in activities set up by members of the club. Each day also has a designated color for students to wear if they wish to take part in the event. Monday’s color is green, Tuesday is purple, Wednesday is rainbow or tie-dye, Thursday is blue, and Friday is red, white and blue.
Club members have high expectations for the week.
“I hope that people will find a sense of community in what we’re trying to promote and will make a conscious effort to change and promote action,” freshman Alessia Iacono said.
One question that has arisen in an age where youth activism has become more widespread, especially online, is whether it is enough to just educate people, or whether education is empty without action. Junior co-president of Human Rights Club Anna Beck believes both are essential.
“Action and education are equally important when it comes to human rights,” junior co-president Anna Beck said. “Without education, our community is left unaware of problems in the world. Without action, there is no way to help solve those problems. Our duty as Human Rights Club is to do both: educate and advocate.”
Junior Caroline Murrell agrees.
“I really like that there’s a community at school that makes a point of talking about difficult topics and that is committed to educating the student body about human rights issues and promoting equity,” Murrell said.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Cohan.
