Tenth Annual Human Rights Awareness Day at Manhattanville College

Manhattanville College’s Castle Scholars Program will be hosting the tenth annual Human Rights Awareness Day (HRAD) on Wednesday, November 16.

HRAD is dedicated to generating awareness about past and present issues related to social justice, as well as to community outreach. The event is planned in the Castle Scholars service learning class led by Professor Dara P. Murray. In the class they reach out to speakers and schedule the different activities for the event. Ultimately, they want to create a day of community outreach and awareness.

“HRAD gives students, faculty, and the community an opportunity to see that they can make a difference, and introduce them to people and groups that can help them make said difference,” Amanda Feeney ’18, one of the Castle Scholar students planning the event, said. “It allows us to start a conversation on our campus about what’s going on in the world.”

The program has a variety of speakers that highlight the human rights advocacy, focusing on race, gender, sexuality, mental health, Islamophobia, and the Holocaust. In between speakers, there will be poster sessions for Manhattanville College students and faculty to showcase their work. Local community organizations like the Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action, My Sister’s Place, Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, and The Loft: The Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center will also be participating.

Spoken Word Artist Gabriel Ramirez will kick off the program early in the afternoon. The poet and activist will share his work and thoughts through a performance. Following Ramirez, is a screening of the film “No Letting Go,” and a Q&A with one of the film’s producers, Randi Silverman. The film is based on a true story and adapted from the award-winning short film “Illness,” and brings to light the difficulties families encounter when trying to understand mental health disorders.

Later in the afternoon, Iman Boukadoum, director of Community Partnerships at the Interfaith Center of New York, will speak on Islamophobia, sharing her own experiences from her expansive career in civil rights. The afternoon will conclude with Esther Geizhals, a Polish Holocaust survivor, sharing her story about living through and eventually escaping the Holocaust.

After a break for dinner and more time for student showcases, Cynthia Smith will conclude the evening with the Arthur M. Berger Lecture. Smith serves as curator of socially responsible design at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, and will speak about her exhibition, “By the People: Designing a Better America.”

“It is a call to action to create more inclusive, equitable, healthy, and just places, to design an ecosystem of opportunity for all people across the country,” the event flyer states.

The variety of programs showcases the various ways to approach topics of social justice and human rights awareness. Given Manhattanville’s history of social justice, HRAD is essential in continuing this tradition.

“It’s important that Manhattanville remembers its roots,” Feeney said. “Manhattanville has always been dedicated to advocating for human rights, and our student body is passionate about equality and justice for everyone. It’s important that people remember they have to be the change they want to see in the world.”

Human Rights Awareness Day will begin at noon in the Ophir Room of Manhattanville College’s Reid Castle. Click here to see the program for the event and learn more about the speakers.

Written by Katherine Matuszek ’19

Program Schedule for Human Rights Awareness Day 2016

• 12 to 12:30 p.m. Ophir Room: Snacks and poster session. Come meet different human rights clubs and community organizations. Learn about their causes and how to get involved.
• 12:40 to 1:10 p.m. Ophir Room: Spoken Word with Artist Gabriel Ramirez.
• 1:20 to 3:20 p.m. West Room: A screening of the film "No Letting Go" a film on mental health followed by a Q&A with its producer Randi Silverman.
• 3:30 to 4 p.m. Ophir Room: Iman Boukadoum, director of community partnerships at the Interfaith Center of NY, a social justice attorney and Algerian-American, Muslim woman, will lead a discussion on Islamophobia
• 4:15 to 5 p.m. Ophir Room: Holocaust survivor, Esther Geizhals will tell her story of escaping the Holocaust.
• 5 to 7 p.m. Ophir Room: Dinner break…but be sure to return to see research projects by students on human rights.
• 7:30 p.m. West Room: Reconvene for the Arthur M. Berger Lecture featuring Cynthia Smith.