Wednesday, October 3 2007 @ Suzallo Café
Present: Diana Archambault; Nari Corley-Wheeler; Jacob Galfano; Janice Goh; Haley Herr; Pranoti Hiremath; Jacqueline Light; Yuhei Miyauchi; Veryl Pow; Rachel Proefke; Anthony Shelley; Sasha Vulari; Kristen Zipperer
Schools Represented: University of Washington; Seattle Central Community College
During introductions, it became quite clear that a common theme that brought people to JHR UW’s inaugural general meeting was the desire to work for a good cause. Both current members and new attendees stressed this point – setting the stage for a productive first meeting of the school year.
Announcements: Veryl Pow, coordinator of the University of Washington’s Amnesty International student chapter, informed the group of their first sponsored event of the quarter:
Amnesty International hosts Jamie Mayerfeld: The Crisis in Guantanamo
Thursday, October 4, 2007 7:00pm - 8:30pm
University of Washington - SMITH 205
Nari also informed the group of Professor Mayerfeld’s tentative confirmation of being JHR’s student advisor. Details will follow once this is official.
JHR Background:
For both new and returning members, the group discussed the history and operations of both JHR’s main office in Toronto, and its UW student chapter. Jacob talked about his trip to the annual Student Chapter Summit in August, where he met staff and other students, and learned just what Journalists for Human Rights does internationally and domestically.
It works abroad (in Africa) to train local citizens to report using human rights as a mechanism for self-empowerment. It also began a “Train-the-trainer” program to further discourage dependency, and, as such, has been able to work in more than a dozen African nations. More information can be found here: http://www.jhr.ca/en/
Nari then shifted the focus onto JHR’s domestic program, which features nearly 30 chapters at secondary institutions across Canada and the United States. The University of Washington chapter is currently its most active, and plays an integral role in providing a model for an American context. Nari discussed projects worked on last year, including sponsorship of a couple of speaking engagements, and publication and distribution of two issues of its newsletter, The Liaison.
Electronic versions of this newsletter will soon be found at:
http://students.washington.edu/j4hr/
A copy of last year’s 2006-7 Wrap-Up can be found at the end of these minutes, and will provide specific information on last year’s activities.
More information on JHR’s Student Chapters can be found at:
http://www.jhrchapters.com/
2007-8 Projects: The meeting then shifted to discussion about activities for this Fall and the upcoming school year. Emphasis was placed on the upcoming publication and distribution of The Liaison; the theme for this issue is Media & Human Rights. The group hopes to finish the issue by the middle of October, so it can dedicate the final two weeks of the month to the upcoming Speak Silence! fundraiser on November 2 (see: below).
Nari coordinated a dialog about article topics, which follows:
Haley: Darfur & media coverage
Rachel: Peace Radio movement in Africa
Anthony: Documentaries (on human trafficking) & its impact on public opinion
Nari: China & its media climate
Janice: Myanmar & its (lack of) media climate
Pranoti: The pivotal role of language in media
Jackie: Darfur & media coverage
Jacob: Local community radio movement
Yuhei: Documentaries & its impact on public opinion
A deadline of Friday, October 12 was set for rough drafts; please email these to j4hr@u.washington.edu or Rachel Proefke.
Speak Silence!: On November 2, JHR will participate in a coordinated fundraiser called Speak Silence!. In a show of solidarity with those who have no voice, student chapters will raise funds for their activities by remaining silent for 6 hours, and then celebrate the victories of giving voice to the voiceless by breaking the silence. This demonstration has proved successful in the past, with chapters raising as much as $6,000. One caveat: all funds raised must go toward that chapter’s activities (with 20% going to the main office in Toronto). That said, the potential to raise enough money for the new internship program (see: below) and sending a delegate to next year’s student chapter summit is more than sufficient! JHR UW will dedicate its meeting in two weeks to plan for this event.
Finance/Fundraising: Diana also talked about raising startup funds – at least enough to get the group covered until November 2. Jackie mentioned past success with bake sales – an idea touched on in the past. Sasha posited a wonderful idea in holding the bake sale during a Husky football home game, maximizing traffic. Nari will look into the policy for this. Diana and Nari are also looking into receiving funds from the Associated Student Government – which allocates a certain portion to each registered student organization.
Diana has also looked into creating a bank account for all funds, and as Director of Finance, will maintain the account and communicate with Bronwyn Bragg – Domestic Programs Coordinator at the main office in Toronto.
Next Meeting: Join us next Wednesday, October 10th at 6 pm, where we will collectively finish the third issue of The Liaison. Location details to be determined.
Tentative Agenda for Meeting #22:
- The Liaison: Distribute v2i1 and discuss next issue
- Discuss general timeline for upcoming year (important dates)
o Oxfam Event/Soldiers of Conscience Event/ONE Event
- Bake Sale/ASUW funds/Bank account
- Speak Silence!/Internship Program (meeting 10/17)
- Individual meetings:
o Yuhei: E-version of The Liaison (PDF & HTML)/JHR Website (TIG)
o Diana: Finance
o Lily: Protocol for next year
JHR 2006-2007 Wrap-up
“JHR @ University of Washington is a student chapter of the non-profit, non-governmental organization Journalists for Human Rights, which advocates human rights through journalism. We hope to bring awareness to every generation and community about domestic and global human rights issues. We believe that everyone is capable of promoting and sustaining human rights through communication and advocacy.”
Announcements: Please check out the announcements at the end of this report!
First meeting: October 11, 2006
Latest meeting: May 17, 2007
Total meetings: 17
Locations: UW HUB; Solstice Café; Suzallo Café; Savery 131; Quad lawn; Diana & Nari’s home
Attendees: Rebecca Alvy; Diana Archambault; Julie Chang Schulman; Jacob Casey; Nari Corley-Wheeler; Alice Drury; Jacob Galfano; Janice Goh; Lily Le; Yuhei Miyauchi; Trevor Payne; Todd Price; Rachel Proefke; Anthony Shelley
Advisors: Bronwyn Bragg; Regina Eddleman; Jamie Mayerfeld
Thank you to each and every one of you for your support and participation! 2007-2008 will be a success because of your hard work.
Websites: Facebook; JHR Student Chapters
Projects:
Newsletter: JHR produced and distributed two issues of The Liaison. The first’s theme was homelessness, and the second’s immigration. Electronic versions are attached for your viewing pleasure, and are available on the JHR Student Chapters website.
Thank you to all who contributed to writing, layout, publishing, printing, and distribution: Diana Archambault; Nari Corley-Wheeler; Jacob Galfano; Janice Goh; Lily Le; Yuhei Miyauchi; Trevor Payne; Todd Price; Rachel Proefke; Anthony Shelley.
Speaking Series: JHR also co-sponsored two speaking engagements. Both involved the human rights situation in Guatemala; the first featured Jillian Tuck (see Issue 1 of The Liaison) and the second featured Emilio Tojìn Lopez (see attached flier). Emilio’s event is available via audio upon request. Both procured large turnouts and even lead to club recruitment. Look for more events in 2007-2008!
Thank you to all those involved in organizing and set-up: Diana Archambault; Nari Corley-Wheeler; Jacob Galfano; Yuhei Miyauchi; Phil Neff; Trevor Payne; Veryl Pow; Rachel Proefke; Emily Sterling.
Special thanks to: Kaaren Johnson of NISGUA; Emily Arfin of UUCAN; Sabrina Roach of KBCS; Mike McCormick of KEXP and SCAN-TV; Chris Benoit and UW Center for Human Rights and Justice; and Reagan Jackson of Latin American Studies, UW.
Archiving: Are you an organizer? JHR needs a volunteer who can put together a system that will organize meeting notes, email correspondence, project paraphernalia & step-by-step instructions, etc. This will take place on Catalyst Online Tools or JHR Student Chapters website until the club secures an office in the HUB where we can use a common computer.
Next Meeting: The next meeting will be a summer BBQ on Saturday, July 7 – time and location to be determined. Keep checking your email for details!
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