March 3, 2017: As part of their Know Your Rights, Protect Our Rights campaign, STF chapters are hosting “Unity Day” events to demonstrate their solidarity for human rights. Inspired by the successful Women’s March in January, STFers hosted die-ins, human chains and art exhibits to call on their campus communities to stand up for human rights in the United States, especially for the protection of LGBT, immigration and women’s rights…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-unites-for-human-rights/
Feb 14 2017
STF Alumna on PBS Newshour
February 13: PBS News Hour, UC Berkeley, California: The front lines of human rights work have shifted in the digital age and STF Alumna Youstina Youssef, Academy of the Canyons 2015, is there…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-alumna-on-pbs-newshour/
Jan 26 2017
Know Your Rights, Protect Our Rights
January 26, 2017: “Human Rights Watch is urging President Trump to stop abusive and discriminatory proposals. His campaign rhetoric and the executive decisions he has made since taking office go against our values as human rights advocates. We are here today to use our voices and determine how we can protect human rights. We are not political partisans, we are human rights partisans,” said STF leader Peter Jebsen as he welcomed students, teachers and special guests to the STF Winter Leadership Workshop…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/know-your-rights-protect-our-rights/
Jan 22 2017
“When Two Worlds Collide:” Environmental Rights are Human Rights
Sunday, January 29, 2016
4:00 pm | Doors open, Meet & Greet with José Miguel Vivanco
5:00 pm | Film Screening, followed by panel discussion
7:00 pm | Reception with drinks and food
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/when-two-worlds-collide-environmental-rights-are-human-rights/
Jan 20 2017
STFers Go to Washington, D.C.
“Attending the inauguration was a moving experience for me. The relatively peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next is something many countries cannot achieve. I am grateful for the institutions of democracy the U.S. upholds,” says former STF Intern Ijeoma Oti, who currently is a USC student in the university’s D.C. program. Ijeoma received inauguration tickets from Congresswoman Pelosi’s office, and also attended the Women’s March in DC with a majority of the students in her program the day after the inauguration…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stfers-go-to-washington-d-c/
Jan 10 2017
Need-to-Knows of Women’s March LA
Please join Human Rights Watch this Saturday, January 21 at the Women’s March LA!
Who: The march is open to everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, tolerance of diversity, and compassion for our shared humanity. Speakers include the founder of the Muslim Women Speakers Movement Soraya Deen, LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn, LGBTQ activist Abbe Land, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and many more.
When: Saturday, January 21, 2017 9:00am – 4:00am
Where: We will meet at 9:00am (new, earlier time!) in front of the Canadian Embassy at 550 S. Hope St, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Please let us know if you plan to march with HRW and wear a STF t-shirt or white!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/march-for-rights-tolerance-compassion-january-21/
Nov 20 2016
STF Rallies for CRC
November 18, 2016: STF’s newest chapter at The Archer School for Girls celebrated Universal Day of the Child by asking students to sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) petition to President-elect Trump requesting he send the CRC to the Senate for review in his first 100 days in office.
Members set up a table in the campus courtyard and exchanged signatures for an “I Signed” sticker and a baked good with a flag listing different children rights violations. More than 250 6th-12th graders were eager to sign the petition and show their support for children’s rights!…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-rallies-for-crc/
Nov 15 2016
STF Applauds Human Rights Defenders
November 15, 2016: Students exchanged their backpacks and sneakers for dresses and ties at the 2016 Human Rights Watch Voices for Justice Dinner. STF leaders, teachers and supporters kicked off the night with a special reception with Yonous Muhammad, recipient of the 2016 Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism, and HRW Greece Researcher, Eva Cossé. STFers were empowered by the human rights defenders’ insight into how younger generations can make a difference in the world through awareness and resilience…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-applauds-human-rights-defenders/
Nov 15 2016
Ask President-Elect Trump to Support the CRC!
This Sunday, November 20, is the 27th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The United States remains the only country in the world to not ratify the CRC.
Now that we have a new president-elect, help us collect as many signatures as possible ahead of his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ask Mr. Trump to send the CRC to the Senate for review during his first 100 days in office.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/ask-president-elect-trump-to-support-the-crc/
Nov 09 2016
Congrats on Prop 57 Success!
We just received this message from HRW Senior Advocate Elizabeth Calvin to STF:
“A huge congrats on this win for Proposition 57. It was great to work with all of you! Thank you for every piece of it, including getting members to gather signatures and blowing past our goal, as well as the army of STF youth standing up in city council meetings, churches, and school and neighborhood gatherings, visiting college campuses and more. A tremendous, beautiful team effort…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/congrats-on-prop-57-success/
Nov 03 2016
New Prop 57 Video from Valencia STF!
Check out this video Valencia High School’s STF chapter created to advocate for Prop 57. Please share on your social media accounts!
Click to watch, 0:57
You can also use these additional social media resources to spread the word about Prop 57.
Thank you Valencia STF for creating this video!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/new-prop-57-video-from-valencia-stf/
Nov 02 2016
The Value of Prop 57
November 1-2, 2016: In the final week before the election, guest speakers, Herminia Galvez and Manuel Barrios, helped Carson and Palisades Charter High Schools STF chapters drive home the value of rehabilitation and education programs like those offered in Prop 57…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/the-value-of-prop-57/
Oct 25 2016
Giving Voice to Justice for Juveniles
October 24-25, 2016: STF leaders from Santa Clarita Valley, Palisades Charter and El Camino Real High Schools participated in events to educate their communities about Prop 57 and over incarceration in California…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/giving-voice-to-justice-for-juveniles/
Oct 12 2016
California Needs Prop 57!
As part of the Fair Sentencing for Youth campaign, we are advocating for Proposition 57. Here are some reasons why California needs Prop 57:
- In the U.S., every year as many as 200,000 youth are put into the adult criminal justice system, most of them for nonviolent offenses.
- Over the last several decades, California has built 22 prisons and only 4 universities, passed more than 1,000 crime bills, and increased incarceration rates by more than 5 times.
- Youth who are prosecuted in the adult system are 34% more likely to recidivate and with more violent offenses than those handled by the juvenile system. Over 6,500 peoplecurrently in California prisons were under the age of 18 at the time of their crime.
- There are approximately 7,000 inmates in state custody who would be eligible for parole consideration under Prop 57…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/california-needs-prop-57/
Oct 05 2016
Californians Want…
Proposition 57 accomplishes this by:
- Providing Incentives for Inmates to Complete Rehabilitation.
- Permitting Parole for Rehabilitated Inmates with Nonviolent Convictions.
- Preventing Prosecutors from Transferring Youth to Adult Court.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/californians-want/
Sep 27 2016
Today is National Voter’s Registration Day!
September 27, 2016: This year, National Voter Registration Day is September 27, 2016 and hundreds of events are being planned across the nation. Get started registering your friends, family, teachers and others who are eligible to vote today!
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/today-is-national-voters-registration-day/
Sep 23 2016
California Chooses…
Our Fair Sentencing for Youth campaign asks the State of California to protect the human rights of all youth by revising the state’s justice system to focus on rehabilitation and provide more opportunities for youth offenders to have a second chance. Did you know:…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/california-chooses/
Sep 18 2016
See the Justice System at Work: “The Return”
Sunday, September 25, 2016
5:00 pm | Doors open
5:30 pm | Film Screening, followed by panel discussion
7:30 pm | Reception with drinks and food
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/see-the-justice-system-at-work-the-return/
Sep 10 2016
STF Calls for Fair Sentencing for Youth
September 10, 2016: The U.S. has the highest rate of juvenile incarceration in the industrialized world. And California has the highest prison budget in the world, with more than 100,000 people in prison and thousands more in juvenile halls, jails, and youth prisons. California went from #1 nationally in education spending to #1 in prison spending, and as low as #47 in K-12 spending and #51 in funding for higher education.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-calls-for-fair-sentencing-for-youth/
Aug 16 2016
Save the Date: STF Fall Leadership Workshop!
Please join us for the STF Fall Leadership Workshop to learn about our new fall advocacy campaign! The event is generously hosted at an exciting new high tech venue by Fullscreen, a creative media company.
Important Information:
When: Saturday, September 10, 12:00–4:30pm
Where: Fullscreen, 12180 Millennium Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90094
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/save-the-date-stf-fall-leadership-workshop/
Aug 05 2016
Palisades Charter HS HRE Summer Institute
Building on last summer’s successful Human Rights Education (HRE) Institute at Palisades Charter High School, HRE consultant, Nancy Flowers, returned to join more than 50 faculty and students to further expand HRE on campus. In the morning, participants focused on how to implement and disseminate the newly drafted Student Bill of Rights and Responsibilities (SBRR), which we believe is the first SBRR rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the United States…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/palisades-charter-hs-hre-summer-institute/
Apr 26 2016
Four Times A Refugee
April 26, 2016: For the second year in a row, Dr. Henry Oster, Holocaust survivor and teenage refugee, returned to STF to help students commemorate Genocide Awareness and Prevention month. This year he tied his personal story of tragedy and triumph to the current global refugee crisis. And just as his first visit with STF last spring, students listened in awe and silence to Henry’s presentation, followed by a torrent of questions as they crowded around him after his talk. Students expressed their appreciation that Henry shares his painful experiences so that young people can better understand the lessons of history for today’s troubled world. Rising leader Kaden Kessel said, “Dr. Oster was inspirational and I can’t wait to see him again!” Others made plans to invite Henry to speak at their schools.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/four-times-a-refugee/
Apr 07 2016
STF Humanizes the Refugee Crisis for Congressman Sherman’s Staff
April 7, 2016: STF representatives from Harvard-Westlake and Sierra Canyon schools met with Congressman Brad Sherman (30th District) to thank him for his vote to defeat the American Safety Against Foreign Enemies Act (HR4038), which would have made it almost impossible for Syrian and Iraqi refugees to enter the United States.
As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Congressman Sherman emphatically opposed HR4038. STF also shared a portfolio of testimonies and photos of refugees with his staff to humanize the crisis…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-humanizes-the-refugee-crisis-for-congressman-shermans-staff/
Mar 28 2016
STF Disappointed in Congresswoman Hahn Vote
March 28, 2016: A STF delegation from Carson High School met with Congresswoman Janice Hahn’s representative on immigration, Patricia Broughton, to discuss the global refugee crisis…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/stf-disappointed-in-congresswoman-hahn-vote/
Mar 17 2016
SAMO Explores the Refugee Crisis
March 17, 2016: The Santa Monica High School STF chapter hosted a “refugee experience” event for more than 270 students to raise awareness about the the global refugee crisis.
The all-day event consisted of four stations: 1. refugee rights; 2. testimonies; 3. refugee routes into Europe; and 4. a station that asked what participants would bring if they suddenly had to flee as refugees…
Permanent link to this article: https://www.hrwstf.org/wordpress/samo-explores-the-refugee-crisis/