Amnesty International at AU: Maintaining liberties, education

This past Wednesday, Jan. 27, a date denoting the liberation of the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, marked the UN’s 5th annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day. This semester a new student organization, Amnesty International at AU, has taken initiative.

A candlelight vigil at the statue of King Alfred was the latest motion for awareness and activation to come out of this springtime coalition. Approximately 30 students, faculty and staff congregated at 5:30 around the statue. The candle light vigil began with a word from faculty advisor Robert Reginio, continued with poetry recitals, a selected reading out of the 2005 UN resolution, a word from the AI at AU president Hannah Certis and finished with an open forum during which human rights violations past and present were discussed.

Expounding on the cause for the vigil Reginio said, “Hopefully [this can be] something that is getting people to think, take the emotions the ceremony raises and do something with them… What we’re all about tonight is not simply just remembering [the past] but doing something in the present.”

The goal of the event as conveyed by faculty advisor Dr. Reginio and student group members was threefold: to remember the holocaust and recognize subsequent human rights violations, to advertise that within Amnesty International at AU, there is a venue for the concerned to organize and educate.

The group, originating in a human rights activism requirement for Dr. Reginio’s Holocaust and Literature class, was founded out of a learned conscience. The group intends to continue the lessons in expanding human rights awareness by offering a voice for the unjustly silenced.

This semester on the Alfred University Campus, AI at AU will be featuring awareness events each month. The next is scheduled to be an informational and activity table set in Powell Campus Center Feb. 1-3 where students may make Valentines cards to send to riot police in Burma.

The ultimate goal of AI at AU encompasses more than standing for memories and sending ironic gifts halfway across the world. These actions are the product of an initiative against stagnation. Members of the organization are working toward a kinetic awareness, to inspire sentience beyond the bounds of AU’s immediate sight and to positively impact the origins of those scenes.

In conversation on the students' ability to be active participants in the Alfred University community, Reginio stated, “I think Alfred really takes that seriously– you’re not consumers of a product or employees of a company–you are truly a part of an institution.” Effective interaction is exactly what makes Alfred University a perfect place to become activated.

Reginio teaches with an invigorating character that has surely rubbed off on his students, who have taken it upon themselves to pursue activation and awareness beyond the physical and timely confines of their Seidlin Hall classroom. The group would greatly appreciate any individuals looking to contribute new ideas or faculties to their initiative.

Amnesty International at Alfred University can be reached by its email account at amnesty@alfred.edu.