Human-rights activist calls for student involvement

Wednesday, January 27, 1999

Human-rights activist calls for student involvement

AWARENESS: Speakers address campus during Week of
Remembrance

By Barbara Ortutay

Daily Bruin Staff

In 1975, Rosario Ibarra de Piedra’s son Jesus was one of the
many whose "disappearance" was allegedly attributed to the Mexican
army and police.

To find her son – and eventually others – Ibarra formed an
organization called "Mothers of the Disappeared," and she has been
active in human rights issues ever since.

Ibarra spoke to a crowd of about 35 people about human rights
issues in Mexico, as part of the Undergraduate Students Association
Council’s (USAC) "Week of Remembrance," in Meyerhoff Park on
Tuesday.

USAC external vice president Liz Geyer said bringing
international and human rights issues to campus is part of the
widening focus her political slate, Praxis, campaigned on last
year.

"When Praxis ran, a main focus was connecting issues such as
democracy in other countries," she said. "It’s part of our
university education to learn about these issues, and then we can
decide what to do about them."

Speaking through a translator, Ibarra said she turned to
students for help when her efforts in finding her son were
unsuccessful after two years.

"Young people responded as young people often do," she said.
"Young people are naturally rebellious and (independent)."

Using this example, Ibarra urged her listeners to participate in
student activism.

Currently, Ibarra is the human rights adviser to the governor of
Mexico City and was the recipient of a United Nations human rights
award.

Today, Ibarra channels most of her efforts toward Mexico’s
Zapatista movement, and toward the release of political prisoners
in the area. She has not seen her son since his disappearance.

"People are still disappearing in Mexico on a regular basis,"
she said.

Although most of the students who attended Ibarra’s speech were
already active in some student activist organization and many were
part of organizing the week’s events, some bystanders said they
also support the cause.

"I didn’t really hear the speech," said Remy Goldsmith, a
fourth-year anthropology and French student. "But I think it’s
important for students to know about these issues."

"Students are considered political citizens of the country," she
said. "But I think most students at UCLA are very passive."

Geyer agreed that college students have a political
responsibility.

She said that as citizens of a powerful country such as the
United States, students are "responsible for what happens on a
global level."

During the speech, organizers continued to circulate USAC’s hate
crimes petition among the listeners.

The petition urges Congress to pass the federal Hate Crimes
Prevention Act. The bill would expand the definition of a hate
crime to include disability, gender and sexual orientation.

According to USAC financial supports commissioner Tram Linh Ho,
at least 300 people have signed the petition so far.

Programs for the rest of the week include speaker Tom Lydon, a
former neo-Nazi leader, who will talk today at 6 p.m. in the
Kerckhoff Art Gallery. He will speak about his experiences inside
and outside the skinhead movement.

On Friday, USAC will sponsor a free trip to the Museum of
Tolerance in Los Angeles, on a first-come first-served basis.NICOLE
MILLER

Rosario Ibarra de Piedra, a human-rights activist from Mexico,
spoke at Tuesday’s Week of Remembrance event sponsored by USAC.

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