Set against a clear blue sky, the American flag waved in the cool December breeze by the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library yesterday.
Beginning at about noon on the steps of the Grad, several human rights activists spoke to passersby and a crowd of about 30.
"Did I ever think this would happen to little old me?" asked Shirley Stuve, an advocate of the Alliance for the Mentally Ill. "Well, it can happen to you too."
On a megaphone, Stuve spoke of the inhumane treatment some mentally ill people receive in prison, including her son.
"I couldn't believe this happened - not in my United States!" Stuve exclaimed.
The student group Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League organized yesterday's Fight for Human Rights Rally.
RAIL member and LSA senior Corey Fielder encouraged listeners to get involved with human rights issues, speaking on such issues as prisoner rights.
"We want to raise awareness of continued U.S. human rights violations in this country and throughout the world despite the fact that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights marked its 50th anniversary" yesterday, Fielder said.
University alumnus Jamie Ballew stressed current problems related to police involvement with substance abusers.
"We need health education on a massive scale," Ballew said. "Drug use should be a health issue, not a criminal issue."
Some listeners held up posters to voice their message.
LSA first-year student Jami Spamer's poster read, "Each month: U.S. sanctions kill at least 7,000 Iraqi children under 5."
Another poster read, "Prisoner rights are human rights."
American Friends Service Committee member Charlie Grose concluded his speech on prisoner rights by quoting Nelson Mandela, "Prison is designed to break one's spirit."
Other topics of the rally included U.S. militarization in the Philippines and the School of Americas in Georgia. Amnesty International members addressed their Human Rights for All campaign and the problems with the death penalty in the United States.
RAIL will be holding information sessions next week. They can be contacted at railaa@mim.org.
12-11-98
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