Letter: UR Amnesty International Focusing on AIDS awareness

By John Waller, Alex Borwick, Caroline Doyle

Richmond Law '09, Westhampton College '12, Westhampton College '11

"Amnesty International is a global movement of individuals fighting to protect the basic human rights of individuals worldwide."

Members of the UR Amnesty International Chapter have raised both money and awareness for human rights issues through events such as letter writing campaigns and film screenings. While the UR chapter remains dedicated to the protection of human rights worldwide, Amnesty's focus for the semester is on the impact of AIDS in regards to human rights.

People with AIDS are still being denied basic human rights such as the rights to healthcare, education and employment. UR's Amnesty chapter hopes not only to respond to these injustices but also to raise awareness throughout campus on these issues. It often seems that the global severity and prevalence of AIDS goes unrecognized and underemphasized, especially on college campuses. However, the grim truth is that AIDS continues to remain a worldwide epidemic that kills nearly 5,700 people every day. To put these numbers into perspective, imagine every student, faculty and staff on campus dying in one day. That number, which would barely hit 5,000, still does not fully express the devastating effects of AIDS worldwide each day.

UR's Amnesty International chapter strives to make even the smallest difference in the lives of the people afflicted by AIDS. Amnesty always welcomes new members and encourages both ideas and contributions. Amnesty meets on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. in THC 327. If you would like to join or even just see what a meeting is like, please feel free to stop by or contact john.waller@richmond.edu.

On behalf of Amnesty International,

John Waller, Richmond Law '09

Alex Borwick, Westhampton College '12

Caroline Doyle, Westhampton College '11