Human Rights Society at Penn State Law and International Affairs

03/23/2022

Hello PSL and SIA

The Human Rights Society is proud to present their Ted Talk styled event this Friday at 4:00 p.m. in Katz 112! This event is student-led with students presenting their own experience and/or knowledge on topics such as The LGBTQ Youth Experience in America and The Myth of Humanitarian/Human Rights Intervention in Africa as a Euphemism for Western Fascistic Neocolonialism: US Aggression on Ethiopia in Support of Tigrean Fascism. Come out and support the speakers and learn about these informative topics! At the conclusion of the speakers’ presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to discuss their own knowledge/experience on human rights topics if they wish. We hope to promote a thought-provoking discussion on the current landscape of human rights issues, both domestic and global. We hope to see you all there!

03/17/2022

If you are a rising 2L, 3L or SIA student interested in a leadership position with HRS, consider applying for the 2022-2023 Executive Board. Applications are open now and will close on Sunday March 27 at 6:00 p.m. If you have any questions about current positions, reach out to Bridgette Woodford at [email protected]. Apply below.

Thank you for your interest in the HRS! This application is due Sunday March 27th at 6:00 p.m. We will announce the new E-board on Thursday March 31st. Please reach out to Bridgette Woodford with any questions at 814-389-6936 or [email protected].

03/02/2022

I wanted to share this event with HRS members, being put on by the School of International Affairs and Penn State Law. "The Penn State School of International Affairs (SIA) and Penn State Law in University Park are co-hosting a panel of experts to discuss Russia’s ongoing war on Ukraine. The event takes place 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday, March 4 in the Sutliff Auditorium, Lewis Katz Building, and livestreamed via Zoom, https://sia.psu.edu/events/russia-ukraine-panel. A question-and-answer session will follow the panelists’ discussion. Please consider joining us. We hope to see you all there!"

01/20/2022

Hello PSL and SIA,

On behalf of the Human Rights Society we hope you had a wonderful break and are enjoying classes!

The Human Rights Society has been in the works of planning a Ted Talk event. This event would be student-led with individuals bringing their own ideas and topics for discussion. Students will have the opportunity to speak on an experience or research they have done in the field of human rights. Due to concerns about limited attendance, we are asking students to take part in the Google survey below. This survey will give the HRS an idea about how we proceed with the event. If you or anyone you know may be interested in attending or speaking at such event, please share and fill out the Google survey! The idea is for this event to be held in early April. Should we receive interest as we are hoping, more details about the event will be sent out shortly!

Human Rights Society Ted Talk Event - Google Forms

If you have any questions, please email Bridgette Woodford at [email protected].

10/06/2021

We are so thrilled to welcome you all to our first speaker event on this coming Friday, October 08. We have invited Ms. Chemi Lhamo as our first guest speaker to talk about the Human Rights Violations in China and its impact on the world at large.

We would love to see you attend and participate during this event!

"I believe in... I have faith in ...." This statement which comes to us so easily and is mostly taken for granted, thanks to the First Amendment, is rather a dream for most who cannot practice their own religion in their own country. To understand this, we do not have to look far. From the illegal detention of Uyghurs to illegitimate occupation of Tibet by China, we have seen numerous accounts of violation of human rights in China.

Ms. Chemi Lhamo is currently the Community Health Lead at Parkdale People's Economy, the Communications Coordinator for the City of Toronto’s Covid response team in the Downtown West Cluster and the Canadian representative for International Tibet Network’s Steering Committee. She is a former University of Mosaic fellow and is currently a School of Cities Fellow at the University of Toronto. Chemi has previously served as the CEO/President, Vice President Equity and the Racialised Students' Collective Coordinator of the Student's Union at University of Toronto Scarborough along with the board of Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario and Student for Free Tibet Canada.

We invite you to this event and strongly encourage you to participate in it.

07/22/2021

Hi, everyone! Please take a look at this article detailing the efforts and achievements of many human rights champions. As human rights defenders, these individuals continue to inspire not only the communities in which they serve but communities far and wide as well.

These are the first of many recipients of the Ona Judge Award for Human Rights. Thank you to Jordan Rhone as well as other previous HRS E-Board members who started this incredible project! We are looking forward to continuing this project by recognizing many other human rights defenders who continuously impact the lives of so many!

Thank you all for the paths you have created for others to follow!

The Human Rights Society, a joint student organization at Penn State Law in University Park and the School of International Affairs, announced the first recipients of the Ona Judge Award for Human Rights. Award recipients are selected for their efforts to champion the cause of human rights in their....

07/01/2021

One day late, but who doesn't love a Welcome Thursday, right? :)

Next up, we will be introducing our 2021-2022 Outreach Coordinator, Tenzin Passang!!

"My name is Tenzin Passang. I am LLM 2021 candidate. I am a first-generation Graduate student and first ever Tibetan to study in Penn State Law. I am from Shimla, India. I am outreach coordinator in Human Rights Society. I joined the society because Human Rights have been a very personal subject for me since childhood and is the most intrigued discipline as a law student. Being a Tibetan Refugee raised in India, I get to enjoy my rights if not full but to some extents contrary to my brethren in Tibet. I aim to serve the people whose rights have been violated and hope to see people enjoy their rights without any fear.

I look forward to making more awareness of Human rights not only among law students but to all through our contributions in Human Rights Society. Human rights is a subject which is interconnected with every aspect of life. I hope to inspire and motivate others to become more involved in the importance of human rights issues. We will be organizing roundtables discussion, lectures and many more events. We look forward to your participation."

06/23/2021

Hi all! From here until the beginning of the Fall Semester you can expect "Welcome Wednesday" posts where we introduce our Executive Board. First up is the Treasurer of the organization, Raphael Ogbonna-Amu.

"My name is Raphael Ogbonna-Amu and I am the Treasurer of the Human Rights Society. I am among the Class of 2023 at Penn State Law. My interest in human rights largely stems from my upbringing in Nigeria, in which I continuously witnessed a blatant disregard for human rights. Government corruption and wealth disparities, among other concerns, fueled the gross mishandling of resources, leaving millions exploited and devoid of basic necessities. Critical reflection of these experiences pushed me to pursue a career that would allow me to prioritize human rights advocacy. As a member of the Human Right Association, I plan to use this platform to promote student involvement in initiatives that aim to dismantle systems of oppression and promote equity. In the 2021-2022 year, I plan to secure as much financial assistance as possible to ensure that we are able to successfully fund all of our events, aimed at spreading awareness and creating actionable means of change. It is my pleasure to serve as your treasurer and I look forward to working with you all."

04/06/2021

Hello all!

The Human Rights Society is holding elections for its 2021-2022 E-Board. We are an organization that includes both Penn State Law and School of International Affairs students, all are welcome to join the board! If you are interested in joining, please submit an application by filling out the attached form by Saturday, April 10 at midnight. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScY2z6LBnVxydQVXDjdfqiD3AU3DHO-urnwbmgFSgjfupuvqQ/viewform

If you have any questions about the different positions, please feel free to reach out to the current e-board members:

President: Jenna Ebersbacher ([email protected])

Vice President: Channalyn Tek ([email protected])

Secretary: Ashleigh Herrin ([email protected])

Treasurer: Jordan Rhone ([email protected])

Communications/PR: Allie Chen ([email protected])

Thank you for your interest in the HRS! This application is due Saturday April 10th at midnight. We will announce the new E-board on Monday April 12th. Please reach out to Jenna Ebersbacher with any questions at 440-382-8838 or [email protected].

03/23/2021

Are you passionate about a certain topic in human rights? Do you need practice in public speaking? Do you want to connect with others who have the same interests as you?

Sign up for Tune In: Topics in Human Rights! Anyone is welcome to sign up! Sign up with this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfRoN22i5Ji6Wiw0tpma9FF96ejVaTJ3xmAlBCRo_Va5r_hA/viewform

03/15/2021

Please join us tomorrow! In this talk, Professor Jacob Schuman will explain how his work as a public defender led him to study the law of community supervision - probation, parole, and supervised release. He will recount the history of community supervision at the federal level and describe how the system has evolved from a limited, rehabilitative program into a vast and punitive regime of "mass supervision." Finally, he will present his scholarship on the rights of defendants in revocation hearings, the philosophical justifications for penalizing violations, and the federal system's focus on monitoring and punishing drug-related misconduct.