Death Penalty Debate

April 26  |  7-9PM  |  Humanities A51

Amnesty at UCLA is very excited to be co-programming a Death Penalty Debate with the USAC External Vice President's office this Thursday at 7:00 PM. This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the issue and to hear both sides of the argument. The event will feature student debaters Anastasia Evans, Gurdeep Kaur, David Lindsay, and Marvin Reyes, and will be moderated by Professor Mark Kleiman from the school of Public Policy!

For much of the beginning of this year, Amnesty has been campaigning for the SAFE California ballot initiative, which would end the Death Penalty in California, so now we are particularly excited to be taking a deeper look at the complexities of this very important issue. To learn more about our stance, check out:

A quick summary of facts (on the AIUCLA website)
Amnesty International's work on the Death Penalty
More information about the SAFE California Act

And come to the debate on Thursday to hear the other side of the argument!

Education Under Fire

APRIL 18  |  5:00-7:00PM  |  SCHOENBERG MUSIC HALL

This Wednesday, UCLA’s Amnesty International is working with the Baha’i Association, Model United Nations, UNICEF, IDEAS, Sigma Pi Sigma, USAC Academic Affairs Commission, and Department of Humanities, in conjunction with The Taslimi Foundation and Los Angeles Baha’i Center for Education Under Fire to bring you a very special screening-conversation about the Baha'i Institute for Education in Iran.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m., screening will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m. The event will feature a screening of the thirty-minute documentary, Education Under Fire, followed by a discussion between four panelists and the audience, moderated by actor and comedian Rainn Wilson. Light refreshments will also be served.

Admission is FREE, no tickets are required, and all are welcome and encouraged to attend.

A little background on the documentary (taken from http://educationunderfire.com/):

Education Under Fire is a nationwide campaign developed to address the Iranian government’s denial of the right to higher education for ideological and religious reasons. People of the Baha'i Faith in Iran have been subjected to systematic persecution, including arrests, torture, and execution, simply for refusing to recant their beliefs.

In 1987, the semi-underground Baha´i Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) was formed to give young Baha´is their only chance for a university-level education. Despite repeated raids and arrests, volunteer teachers and administrators created an independent, decentralized university system that has lifted the lives of thousands of Baha´i students across Iran. In May, 2011, an organized assault was launched by the Iranian government in an attempt to shut down the BIHE. Over 30 homes were raided and over a dozen BIHE professors and administrators were detained. Several are still in prison for doing nothing more than trying to teach. The film connects a diverse audience to a grave human rights issue, a powerful story of resilience against oppression, and the need to respect human rights everywhere.