Human rights included in environmental battle

Wednesday, November 12, 1997

Human rights included in environmental battle

ACTIVISM Coalition claims the social and the natural are
intertwined

By Michael Weiner

Daily Bruin Contributor

The members of the UCLA Environmental Coalition don’t just hug
trees. They also hug people.

Environmental concerns are just one part of the Environmental
Coalition’s agenda. Democracy and human rights are also issues of
great importance.

And the association of those two principles is natural,
according to Director Scott Kurashige.

"We feel that environmental issues are connected to other social
issues," Kurashige said. "Democracy, human rights and the
environment all go hand in hand.

"The main goal is simply to raise awareness of environmental
issues and the connection between environmental issues and other
social issues," he added.

Although the coalition is funded by the Graduate Students
Association (GSA), it is open to both undergraduate and graduate
students.

Lately, the coalition has been focusing on recycling. Members
believe that the campus needs recycling bins for glass, plastic and
aluminum, not just newspaper and white paper, as is currently the
case.

"We are trying to find out what is the most effective way for
the campus to recycle more than just paper," Kurashige said.

The coalition is also preparing for Earth Week, which is devoted
to promoting environmental awareness among members of the
community. It is centered around Earth Day, which falls on April
22, 1998, an internationally celebrated day designed to focus
people’s attention on the environment.

"That is a time when we really want people who might not
normally think about environmental issues to stop and pause for a
minute," Kurashige said.

Because of their belief that the protection of the environment
is connected to other social issues, the coalition is involved with
other projects besides those dealing directly with the environment.
Primary among these is their involvement with the Free Burma
Coalition.

Burma is ruled by a military junta called the State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC). Burma’s human rights record has
been condemned by a number of organizations including Amnesty
International and the U.S. State Department.

The Free Burma Coalition hopes to make people aware of the
situation in Burma, so that human rights and environmental abuses
might be alleviated.

"The main purpose is to create awareness so that political
pressure can be put on the SLORC regime," said Megan Jay, a
third-year political science student.

Other programs of the Environmental Coalition include social
events such as hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains, the production
of the Shades of Green environmental newsletter and an
environmental education project in collaboration with local
community groups.

The coalition, whose office is located at 300 Kerckhoff Hall, is
currently looking for new members.

"New people bring in new ideas and new energy and that’s
important for the health of any organization," Kurashige said.

One new member, Liz Rodgers, a first-year undeclared student,
joined the coalition after seeing a flyer. She hopes that more
people will see the coalition’s importance. "We’re trying to
recruit so we can have a pretty active group this year," Rodgers
said.

Although the environment is the coalition’s main focus, the
relation between environmental challenges and other problems is
certainly not lost on its members.

"It’s really important to create awareness that human-rights
violations are related to conditions in the environment," Jay
said.

And according to its members, creating awareness is the
coalition’s biggest goal.