Congresswoman Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce, takes a picture with the Human Rights Watch Stundt Task Force at Golden Valley High School Friday afternoon. Photo by Cory Rubin

May 24, 2019: STF leaders from Academy of the Canyons, Canyon HS and Golden Valley HS met with Congresswoman Katie Hill to discuss human rights in the U.S. immigration system.

STFers shared a comprehensive overview of the work they did this spring to educate their peers on America’s immigration history and about current issues at the U.S. southern border. Students presented Congresswoman Hill with more than 400 signatures on letters requesting she support new legislation aimed at protecting the human rights of detained persons at our borders. When asked to take immediate action by co-sponsoring the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act of 2019 (H.R. 2415), Congresswoman Hill agreed!

She also commended the leaders for being vocal about human rights on their campuses and declared it is fantastic that they are learning how to advocate for themselves and others. “Your opinions matter…”

Read media coverage of the meeting:

• Santa Clarita Valley Signal
• KHTS News

STF leaders discuss border issues with Congresswoman Hill. Photo by Jade Aubuchon/KHTS News

Photos by Patricia Williams

April 30, 2019: “The power is in your hands to stand up for what’s right. Imagine a world as it should be and fight for it,” special guest and HRW supporter Leslie Gilbert-Lurie encouraged students and teachers at the 2019 STF Year-End Leadership Workshop.

Leslie and her mother, Rita Lurie, shared Rita’s story of surviving the terror of the Holocaust and their family’s lessons in courage and recovery. They read excerpts from their memoir, Bending Toward the Sun, and responded to many student questions. They emphasized the importance of speaking out against human rights violations within one’s community. “One voice can make a difference,” Leslie said.

Also speaking was Daisy Paniagua-Uribe, Congressman Ted Lieu’s Field Representative, who commended the students for standing up for human rights in the U.S. immigration system. She spoke of the importance of writing letters, calling legislative offices, and requesting meetings with elected officials to make sure their concerns are heard. The students presented Daisy with hundreds of signatures on letters to Congressman Lieu asking for his ongoing leadership to protect human rights in the immigration system. STFers are also collecting signatures on letters to Congressmembers Barragan, Bass, Hill and Sherman in preparation for May advocacy meetings.

March 12 – April 12, 2019: STF chapters continued to share STF’s Human Rights on the Southern Border exhibit, launched by Palisades Charter HS STF on March 1. Academy of the Canyons, Canyon HS, Carson HS, Da Vinci Schools, Golden Valley HS and New Roads School STF chapters hosted the traveling exhibit for hundreds of students, teachers, parents, community members and a representative from Congresswoman Katie Hill’s office.

Participants learned about the challenges Central American migrants face to get to the U.S.-Mexico border, what a credible fear asylum interview can sound like and heard the cries of children separated from their families in detention centers in summer 2018.

As follow up, STFers will offer their classmates the opportunity to sign letters to their elected officials asking them to take a leadership role to protect human rights in the U.S. immigration system and be a voice for human dignity.

Scroll to see photos of the events:

March 8, 2019, HRW: Human Rights Watch mourns the death of our friend, supporter and board member Sid Sheinberg, a legendary Hollywood executive who died at home on March 7 aged 84. Sheinberg and his wife Lorraine worked tirelessly for decades to support human rights and were instrumental in helping Human Rights Watch to establish work on the rights of women and LGBT people.

Sheinberg was best known professionally for launching Steven Spielberg’s career – together they gave us Jaws, ET and Schindler’s List.

Sheinberg was widely recognized as an outspoken LGBT ally… The program he helped establish at Human Rights Watch now covers LGBT rights issues around the world.

He also believed strongly in investing in the next generation and pushed Human Rights Watch to think about educating students on human rights and recruiting young people to the cause. In Los Angeles he supported the Student Task Force, which empowers high-school students to become human rights activists by building campaigns and advocating around key issues.

…His deep legacy propels us forward. We extend our gratitude to Sid and Lorraine Sheinberg for their lifelong support of human rights and we send our condolences to Lorraine, their sons Jon and Bill, and the entire Sheinberg family on the loss of a great man.

Read the complete HRW statement online

Kanchan Wali-Richardson, Student Task Force 2008-09, Fulbright-Nehru Grantee Varanasi, India: “Thousands of students now scattered around the globe are united by our experiences in the Student Task Force, which instilled in us an early commitment to Human Rights and Human Rights Education.”

Abdiel Lopez, Student Task Force 2012-14, Grinnell College Grinnell, Iowa: “We are young, well-trained advocates passionate about children’s rights issues and eager to make a difference in the world. I don’t know too many other high school students who quoted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in their history classes, but we did.”

Amy Calfas, Student Task Force 2008–11, United States Institute for Peace Washington, D.C.: “Although our generation is witnessing many crises that dominate today’s media, STF provides the tools and education needed to become active citizens and to defend the rights of other youth. Today’s injustice doesn’t need to become tomorrow’s reality.”

Linda Gordon, Student Task Force 2010–14, Barnard College New York City, New York: “My work with the Student Task force has been truly life changing, and has had significant influence on my academic interests in college and my professional goals. Thank you Mr. Sheinberg for believing in us and supporting our opportunity to learn and to lead and to become a clear voice for justice in the world.”

Photos by Patricia Williams

March 1, 2019: Palisades Charter HS’s Human Rights Watch Student Task Force presented their special exhibit, “Human Rights on the Southern Border,” on Friday, March 1 in their school auditorium.

The exhibit was produced by Pali’s Student Task Force, with the support of the Latino Student Union (LSU), to provide significant facts about the people and geography along the 2,000-mile U.S. southern border, why people cross it, and examples of basic human rights violations documented by human rights organizations. The Student Task Force hopes their presentation helped viewers better understand southern border issues and motivated them to continue learning more about this humanitarian crisis.

Congressman Ted Lieu sent his immigration representative, Daisy Paniagua-Uribe, to view the exhibit and she discussed sharing information with STF on legislation addressing issues like separation of families and investigating detention centers for human rights violations.

The Pali exhibit was presented in six stations:

1. Northern Triangle: “Why We Flee”
2. Mexico Side of Mexico/U.S. Border
3. Legal Port of Entry at San Ysidro, California
4. Asylum Process: “Credible Fear Interview”
5. U.S. Side of the Mexico/U.S. Border
6. Immigration Detention Center

Teachers signed up their classrooms to view the exhibit throughout the day.

Palisades Charter HS Human Rights on the Southern Border Traveling Exhibit (Click to watch, 4: 18)

Photos by Patricia Williams

January 31, 2019: As headlines about immigration dominate the news, 60 Student Task Force leaders, teacher advisers and supporters gathered for the 2019 Winter Leadership Workshop to launch Human Rights on the Southern Border campaign.

Grace Meng, a senior researcher with HRW’s U.S. Program, shared the story of a young mother and her daughter who fled gang violence in Honduras and explained why the U.S. immigration system is inhumane and disrespects human rights.

Attendees also previewed a few samples of the STF traveling exhibit “Experience the Southern Border,” which aims to raise awareness about the geographic realities of the US-Mexico border, why people cross it–and expose the human rights violations on the southern border. After viewing the exhibit, the students brainstormed strategies for implementing it on their campuses.

December 10, 2018: Thanks to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and nations’ commitments to its principles, the dignity of millions has been uplifted, untold human suffering prevented and the foundations for a more just world have been laid. While its promise is yet to be fulfilled, the very fact that it has stood the test of time is testament to the enduring universality of its perennial values of equality, justice and human dignity. To educate about and to honor the 70th anniversary of the UDHR, members of the HRW Student Task Force hosted film screenings, art contests, photo challenges, posted visual displays around campus and filmed videos expressing why the anniversary is so significant. 

Scroll to see photos of the events:

The New Roads STF chapter created a video shown to all social studies classes explaining the importance of the 70th anniversary of the UDHR. (Click to watch, 2:28)

On December 7, Santa Monica STFers hosted a screening of “The Last Survivor,” a story about survivors of genocide and will host another film in the future. (Click to watch, 2:11)

November 28, 2018: Palisades Charter HS STF surprised STF Teacher Advisor Angelica Pereyra with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition presented by Aurelia Friedman, a representative of Congressman Ted Lieu. At their regular Wednesday meeting, students had also prepared an accordion business card version of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) to give everyone in attendance, plus, STF’s traditional blue icing cupcakes with a toothpick flag waving an article of the UDHR. Students gave a short presentation about the significance of the UDHR and thanked Ms. Pereyra for inspiring STF members for nearly 20 years. Photos of the event will circulate on social media on December 10, the official 70th anniversary of the UDHR.

According to US News, “young adults motivated by social issues and dissatisfied with the Trump administration turned out in record numbers to vote in the 2018 midterms and backed Democratic candidates by historic margins, initial analysis shows.

Thirty-one percent of voters aged 18 to 29 cast ballots in the 2018 midterm elections, shattering turnout rates from the past quarter century, according to an estimate by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. This year’s turnout was at least 10 percent higher than for the 2014 midterms, according to the center’s estimates…” (Read full article)

This fall, HRW Student Task Force members got more than 1,200 people registered and preregistered to vote, educated their campus communities and got out the vote leading up to the November 6 midterm elections. Congratulations on so many successful events! 

Scroll to see additional photos from recent events:

With the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) quickly approaching, STF is sharing our Celebrating 70 Years of the UDHR Toolkit. The toolkit has materials and resources to help you prepare for your December 10 celebrations including:

• UDHR education tools
• Multimedia resources
• Tips on how to take action
• And much more!

Check out the Celebrating 70 Years of the UDHR Toolkit!

Photos by Maya Myers

November 13, 2018: STF leaders and teachers gathered with HRW supporters to celebrate 40 years of HRW during the 2018 Voices for Justice Dinner at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Prior to the start of the dinner, Mike Bochenek, HRW Children’s Rights Division senior counsel, and Emma Daly, HRW Communications Director, discussed with STFers the importance of speaking up for human rights. Mr. Bochenek shared his experiences working with migrant children in detention centers along the U.S.-Mexico border while Ms. Daly discussed the need to stand up against “fake news.”

During the STF reception, participants were invited to learn how to utlize Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and the STF website for advocacy purposes. They also learned about upcoming HRW digital advocacy campaigns and lent their voices for the United Nations’ #StandUp4HumanRights campaign.

Later, HRW dinner guests honored Law & Order: Special Victims Unit’s Mariska Hargitay for her years of work advocating for survivors of sexual assault & domestic violence. While accepting The Promise Award, she reflected on the importance of HRW, saying, “In this world where a sense of calm and security seems to be increasingly hard to come by, I hear the name Human Rights Watch, and I think, ‘Oh thank God, someone is paying attention, someone is standing guard, someone is keeping watch. So thank you so much for your work…”

October 23-25, 2018: Canyon’s STF hosted a successful mock election. The STF chapter set up 15 polling booths on the outside stage for students to participate in a mock election on 10 human rights themed propositions. The propositions reflected the results of a human rights survey sent to 200 Canyon High students. Students were challenged to examine how “mock” laws would impact a variety of human rights.

Eleven classes visited the Canyon polling station and 162 students signed pledges to get out the vote on November 6 and commit to voting when they turn 18. The overall response was positive from both teachers and students. Results of the election will be shared with Canyon students through the Canyon News Network.

Meanwhile, STF members at Da Vinci Schools followed up their successful voter registration effort with advisory lesson plans that educated students on how to vote for human rights. Participants learned about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the importance of voting, how to preregister to vote in California and voted in a mock election.

Next steps at all STF chapters is to help get out the vote!

October 19, 2018: Preparing to beat California’s voter registration deadline on Monday, October 22, STF members at Carson Senior HS, Da Vinci Schools and Golden Valley HS registered and preregistered more than 100 students during lunch time activities throughout the week. They faced down high winds in Santa Clarita Valley and made last minute adjustments to improvise. Other schools used tents, voter booths, signs, announcements, student-made videos and mock election ballots to engage their classmates and work to increase voter turnout on November 6.

Voter preregistration will continue throughout the semester to prepare for the future elections after November midterms. STF chapters are now educating their campus communities about how to vote for human rights and helping voters determine their day-of voting plans.

Scroll to see photos of the events:

Photos by Patricia Williams

October 9, 2018: Starting bright and early at 8am, STF organizers welcomed the first classrooms to Mercer Auditorium to participate in voter registration and Palisades Charter HS’s first mock election for the crucial November 6 Midterms. The Palisades STF chapter joined with the school’s Leadership Class and the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office to present 40-minute sessions throughout the school day to over 700 students and teachers. (Teachers signed up their classrooms to fill the available sessions throughout the school day.)

The City Clerk’s office illustrated the impact on our lives from local elections, but lamented the ominously low voting rates of eligible voters in local elections. Only 10% of registered voters actually voted in last June’s local elections in the City of Los Angeles. Determined to dramatically raise voter participation, a major part of the day’s presentations was an opportunity to pre-register (16 and 17 year-olds) and register to vote, followed by the popular mock election which gave participants an experience in every step of voting on election day: signing in, receiving a ballot, going into actual voting booths to vote, depositing the ballot in the official ballot box and receiving the “I voted” sticker.  Pali was able to proclaim, 100% participation by the 700!

Not all Pali students were able to attend the Mock Election Day, so Pali STF will continue to register voters before the October 22 voter registration deadline.

September 25, 2018: STFers at Archer School for Girls, Crossroads School, Culver City HS and Sierra Canyon School participated in National Voter Registration Day preregistering and registering students and faculty to vote in the November 6, 2018 midterm elections. STF chapters got more than 150 people registered to vote throughout the day!

Check out photos from STF chapters:

Photos by Patricia Williams

September 15, 2018: Inspired by the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the HRW Student Task Force members are calling on their friends, families, classmates, teachers and communities to vote for human rights in the November 6 midterm election in our Vote for Human Rights Campaign.

STF officially launched its fall campaign at the 2018 STF Fall Leadership Workshop, where students and teachers were joined by representatives from the Los Angeles City Clerk’s office. Participants experienced how to register and preregister California voters and brainstormed ways to educate their communities about how to vote for candidates and policies that protect human rights, specifically the human rights of DACA recipients and students’ rights to a safe school. Students who are too young to vote in this election pledged to find eligible voters who need to register and encourage them to make their voices heard for human rights.

The more than 80 attendees also took part in a mock election, which many will repeat at their own schools. They also shared activities to promote the campaign from tents to t-shirts, to posters and pledge forms.

Watch the first half of the workshop (click to watch, 24:36) and learn more: Vote for Human Rights Toolkit!