Festival of social action celebrates human rights

By ALEXANDRA RODRIGUEZ
Collegian Staff Writer

In a combination of music, dance and activism information, the Penn State community celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the event "Get Up, Stand Up! A Festival of Social Action."

The event, sponsored by Amnesty International at Penn State, took place last night at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. As part of the celebration, NOMMO Performing Arts Company and The Earthtones performed.

"Most people don't even know there is a Universal Declaration of Human Rights," Autumn Hanna, administrative director of Eco-Action, said, "and all of us benefit from it."

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a doctrine created by the United Nations in 1948, Tony North, event coordinator, said. It contains 30 articles with a wide variety of rights every nation must respect, he added.

To increase awareness of how basic human rights are violated, Melinda St. Louis, a former Penn State student, described the conditions of clothing factories in El Salvador. With her voice full of emotion, she told horror stories about poor ventilation and drinking water, limited restroom access, unrealistically high working quotas and low wages. She encouraged solidarity to help end this problem.

"We should work diligently even though we might never see the end and our victories will be few," she said.

Different progressive groups set up tables around the auditorium to provide students with information about their causes. Kim Singer, president of Amnesty International at Penn State, said she hoped the activity would encourage student activism and discussion about social issues.

Many students attended the activity because they wanted to get involved in their community and did not know what options were available to them.

"There's many ways for students to be active," said Julian Catchen, co-coordinator of American Civil Liberties Union at Penn State.

"They just have to find what's right for them. When it comes to student activism, we just want to open as many doors as possible."