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Where is the Activism?

By Sinzianna Scoarta- A&E and Opinion Editor

Nowadays everybody is talking about human rights, how they are infringed, how people are unlawfully detained in Guantanamo Bay, or how there is no such thing as freedom of the press in countries still under the veil of oppressive ruling systems. Apart from talking, groups such as Amnesty International are making their voices heard by sending out letters, lobbying with high officials or by peacefully demonstrating in the streets. But how are SNHU students involved in such activities? Do they take action, do they speak for human rights, do they speak for their rights?

On March 28, I took part in the Amnesty International Annual General Meeting, held in Boston. Amnesty International is a human-rights advocacy organization that speaks out despite oppression since 1961, presently boasting over 2.2 million members worldwide. The motto of the meeting was “Seizing the Moment, Building the Movement!”, a compelling and activism-driven idea meant to encourage as many people as possible to join the organization and take action in their communities.

Once entering the plenary and committee meetings you could feel the enthusiasm and willingness of the attendees to take action. They were asking questions, raising controversial points or making their personal stories of rights’ oppression and imprisonment heard. They spoke because they had found the Amnesty means to be the most diplomatic one to get the point across, to change something, to make a point in a world that decides to first go in the frontline with weapons rather than with words.

During the workshops, I had the chance to meet students that were organizing raising awareness campaigns in their colleges. These college students were not only on their way towards gaining a college degree, but they had committed themselves to making a change in the world by starting with their immediate communities. It was at that point that I realized that, to my knowledge, SNHU has no activism group. And by that, I do not mean volunteering, where the SERVE office and Outreach do a wonderful job, alongside the Environmentally Sustainable Students who are taking initiative on environmental issues. Where is the basic activism, for those human rights for which heads of state worldwide have put their signatures down and included them in their countries’ constitutions?  Is it that we have become so focused on our well-being that we totally disregard the in injustices that occur in distinct corners in the world? I trust that not many have heard of the student-initiated revolution on the street of Moldova's capital, Chisinau, in protest towards the results of the elections that apparently brought back the Communist Party to power.

 I am bringing this issue forward because I know that we have the means to change something. We live in a country that prides itself with granting freedom to its citizens, where all our basic needs are covered and where the access to information helped us hold the world’s leadership. With that in mind, how is it possible that we do not take action unless our own rights are infringed? I wonder whether we may just have to be hurt too in order to be able to empathize with those who have no voice. Just imagine, for a second, that after this article was printed in the newspaper and appeared in newsstands, I could be imprisoned and tortured for my thoughts.  Why? Because my rights are infringed, because they do not constitute the grounds upon which the country I may be in is functioning.

Therefore, as long as we do have a voice and our rights in hand, why not use it! Why not speak out and be those Southern New Hampshire University Students that have started a human rights movement on their campus as part of their dedication to respect one another. Let us start the advocacy that has given us the freedom that we frequently take for granted. Let us join organizations such as Amnesty International and make a change, for other sake, but most importantly, for our own future well- being as individuals and as a society.