Amnesty International: Educate yourself while helping others

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Jade Golembiewski, Emily Hubbard, and Sandra Attisha make weighted stuffed animals to donate to children with disabilities

UAIS Amnesty International is a club that helps to fight against human rights violations around the world.  The first meeting of the year was held on September 30th. A few topics that have been discussed in the past include Asian American hate crimes, fast fashion, human trafficking, and more.

With this club, the education process is equally as important as doing one’s part to make a difference. To make a positive impact, Amnesty has also held several in-club activities: making blankets to donate to homeless shelters, a clothing swap to bring awareness to the effects of fast fashion on climate change, writing to government officials, etc. 

Ms. Hall, UAIS history teacher, is also Amnesty’s supervisor. She has been overseeing the club since it began in 2019.

“It’s the most important [club] because it lets kids experience how their actions, collectively, can make a change,” she said. 

Ms. Hall believes that Amnesty stands out against other clubs for many reasons.

“The executive board: they’re dedicated, professional, they bring knowledge, and they have action,” she said.

Moreover, Ms. Hall wanted to emphasize the difference that working together can make.

“It’s not just to get [CAS] hours; you have to actually sign petitions and make things from your heart and learn what Amnesty International does to help people around the world,” she said. 

For those who wonder how the club runs, Jaeden Lareau, UAIS junior and vice-president said, “We always present a brief PowerPoint on that week’s topic, which all the members contribute to and then we have a fun activity that offers CAS hours for upperclassmen.” 

In addition, she said, “I feel like we are very chill and accepting; grades don’t matter; we want to include everybody regardless of your knowledge level.”

Students join Amnesty for a variety of reasons: to learn about new topics, to be a part of the community, make a positive change, or all of the above. 

Junior member, Emily Hubbard, said, “I have always wanted to help people and Amnesty seems like a good way to do that by learning about issues I didn’t know about.”

Hubbard continued and said, “My favorite topic so far is the Taliban’s Effects on Afghanistan because it relates to my favorite book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.”

Overall, Amnesty seems like a great club; members are able to get involved with the student body, while taking steps towards a positive change in the world. If readers of UAIS United are students who are interested in joining Amnesty International, meetings are held every other week on Thursday, from 2:15 to 3:00, Ms. Hall’s room (343).