The seventh Mississippi chapter of Amnesty International was established in February on the Mississippi State campus.Amnesty International began in London in 1961 and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977. With more than 1.8 million members, it is the world’s largest grassroots organization.
Lindsay Nelson, founder of the Mississippi State chapter, said the organization seeks to work for human rights.
“The goals are to investigate human rights abuses and ultimately to protect human lives,” she said.
Marisa Allison, chapter president, said Amnesty also works to protect the civil rights that everyone is guaranteed.
“The goal is ensuring that everyone has the basic rights that they deserve,” Allison said.
A large focus of Amnesty’s work is petitioning governments around the world on various issues, she said.
“We work very heavily on writing letters for people in prison for speaking what they believe. In countries other than ours, people can be killed for speaking what they believe,” Allison said.
Nelson said she wanted to start the group on campus because of her desire to work for human rights and humanitarian aid.
“We really didn’t have anything locally to quench my thirst for humanitarian work,” Nelson said.
Some of Amnesty’s main campaigns listed on their Web site include ending the misuse of arms, stopping torture, opposing abuses related to the war in Iraq, ending violence against women and abolishing the death penalty.
Allison said she encourages students and others to get involved with Amnesty even if they do not support all the issues.
“There [are] several issues that Amnesty International takes a firm stand on, and I know some people here don’t agree with all the issues. I think the important thing to remember is human rights for all people,” Allison said.
Nelson said that participants can pick and choose the issues that interest them and do not have to commit to all the campaigns.
“I think there’s a set group of students who might have an interest in working. Human rights affect everyone, and Amnesty has something for everyone,” Nelson said.
Last week was Amnesty’s National Week of Student Action.
Allison said the Amnesty board members choose the topic for the National Week of Student Action each year. This year the focus was on the conflict in Darfur.
Nelson said the MSU chapter held a vigil and hosted two table events March 29 on the Drill Field with information and petitions.
The chapter gathered 264 signatures on petitions against human rights abuses in Darfur, which Allison said is a good number for a first petition.
“Overall, [Amnesty International is] hoping to have a mass number of people sending out letters and signing petitions. College students have a very strong voice in Amnesty,” Allison said.
Freshman elementary education major Ginny Mobley said she thinks petitions are a way to draw attention to Amnesty.
“Petitioning is good because it raises peoples’ awareness about certain issues,” Mobley said.
Allison said the chapter is currently made up of about 15 members.
“Mississippi is completely under-represented in Amnesty International. There are only seven groups in Mississippi. In Miami, there are 33 student groups,” Allison said.
Nelson said the group is open to faculty, staff and anyone in the local community.
Lynn Hempel, adviser for the MSU chapter, said the group is a way for students to help do something in a global context.
“It gives us all a means to affect some changes in the world,” Hempel said.
Allison said being a part of Amnesty has been a positive experience.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to know you’re making a difference,” she said.
Nelson said that the chapter welcomes any new members.
“The more voices we have, the better off we are,” she said. Any support is great. We’re really just trying to find people to get active.