This upcoming week is Human Rights week and will be hosted by UOSA, the Student Activist Association, and the Union Programming Board. Marcin Rutkowski/ The Daily

This week, campus organizations are working together to host events designed to promote human rights and to prevent human rights abuses.

UOSA, the Union Programming Board and the Student Activist Network are presenting the first Human Rights Week at OU today through Friday.

“It is important to have something like this to bring people out of the woodwork and give them the opportunity to find a cause that they feel passionate about,” said Isaac Freeman, UOSA coordinator of international activism.

The events will begin with a lecture hosted by OU Hillel and presented by Carsten Schapkow, assistant professor of Jewish history, who specializes in German-Jewish history from the 18th to the 20th centuries. “Shedding Light on Human Rights in the Shadow of the Holocaust” will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday night in Meacham Auditorium, Freeman said.

On Tuesday, Students for a Democratic Society will present “Make _____ not War” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the South Oval. They will present alternatives to war, said Freeman.

Also on Tuesday, the women’s and gender studies department will present “Gendercide: a Panel Discussion about Women and Conflict Around the World” at 7 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium. OU professors Zermarie Deacon, Jill Irvine, Clemencia Rodriguez and Elyssa Faison as speakers.

The campus group Facilitating African Rehabilitation will present the new Invisible Children film about the struggle between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan Army from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Meacham Auditorium.

The LRA slaughters families and forces children into fighting for them, and the war is largely ignored, said Matthew Mead, FAR president.

Advocates for Sexual Awareness and the OU Women’s Outreach Center will present “Take Back the Night,” a rally and march at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on the union’s East Lawn. Refreshments will be served before a Women’s and Gender Studies faculty member speaks about violence against women in Oklahoma. Survivors of sexual assault will also share their experiences. The march will begin at 9:45 p.m. around campus and along Boyd Street, according to Jennifer Cox, ASA treasurer and intern for the Women’s Outreach Center.

An activism involvement fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday in Beaird Lounge. Over 20 organizations are scheduled to attend, Freeman said.

From 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, the Student Activist Network will host a panel discussion titled “How to be a Student Activist,” in the union’s Regents Room.

The final event will be a benefit concert hosted by Amnesty International from 8 p.m. to midnight Friday night at Second Wind on Campus Corner.

Freeman said a major goal of the week is to promote a more prominent activist culture in Norman.

“In America we are very comfortable, and we have a high quality of life, but around the world … people are suffering from human rights abuses every day,” Freeman said.

Human Rights Week Events

Monday

5 to 6 p.m., Meacham Auditorium

Lecture: “Search for Human Rights in the Shadow of the Holocaust”

Tuesday

11 a.m. to 2 p.m., South Oval

“Make _____ Not War”

7 to 9 p.m., Meacham Auditorium

Panel Discussion: Gendercide

Wednesday

7 to 9 p.m., Meacham Auditorium

Film: Invisible Children’s “The Rescue”

8:30 to 10:30 p.m., union East Lawn

Rally and March: “Take Back the Night”

Thursday

11 a.m. to 3p.m., Beaird Lounge

Activism Involvement Fair

6 to 7:30 p.m., Regents Room, OMU

Panel Discussion: “How to be a Student Activist”

Friday

8 p.m. to midnight, Second Wind

Amnesty International Human Rights Benefit Concert