Category Archives: Human Rights

Marriage vs. Civil Unions in the State of Illinois

Posted on 01/27/2011 by Phillip Reese

It’s important we distinguish between the civil unions and marriage. Though many religious institutions in the area provide same-sex couples with recognition before God and their friends and neighbors, a civil union is anything but marriage. Despite what anti-gay activists … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, LGBTQA | Leave a comment

Local Youth Talk Gay Marriage

Posted on 01/27/2011 by KristinaWho

On November 30, 2010, the Illinois Senate passed SB 1716, “Illinois Religious Freedom and Protection and Civil Union Act.” This law will grant legal recognition of same-sex couples. Governor Quinn has pledged to sign the bill into law in early … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, LGBTQA, Youth | Leave a comment

La Colectiva, the University YMCA, and Growing Immigrant Population in Champaign County

Posted on 11/05/2010 by Aaron Johnson-Ortiz

THE UNIVERSITY YMCA AND THE UI STUDENT organization La Colectiva are developing new outreach programs that aim to build bridges with the Latino immigrant communities in Champaign County. The two new programs are a mentorship program with Latino high school … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Latino/a | Leave a comment

Iraq Veterans Against the War On Veterans Day

Posted on 11/05/2010 by Iraq Veterans Against the War

This Veteran’s Day, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) asked Americans to reconsider the meaning of supporting the troops. As a nation, we are dishonoring our veterans by ignoring the real costs of war, and we contend that we can … Continue reading →

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Just Say No to “Gay Marriage”

Posted on 10/05/2010 by Snow Leopard

Those who accept evil without protesting against it are really cooperating with it. —Martin Luther King, Jr. Many people in the United States, it seems, may not have been exposed to, and so don’t realize, the quality of hatred often … Continue reading →

Posted in Community Forum, Human Rights, LGBTQA | Leave a comment

Unity March Honors the Memory of Kiwane Carrington

Posted on 10/05/2010 by Brian Dolinar

Several hundred people came out to the Unity March on October 9, 2010, marking a year to the day since Kiwane Carrington was killed by a Champaign police officer. In the face of recent news reports about supposed racial attacks, … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Human Rights | Leave a comment

Cruelty to the Mentally Ill

Posted on 10/05/2010 by Mary Coleman

Do you know what goes on behind locked doors at the Champaign County Satellite Jail? You would probably be surprised to find out. For people with serious mental illnesses, the jail policies for dealing with these people amount to cruelty. … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisoners | Leave a comment

Building Community Consciousness Around Domestic Violence

Posted on 10/05/2010 by Rachel Storm

October is nationally recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and the Women’s Resources Center—in collaboration with a variety of campus and community organizations*—has worked to both raise awareness of the realities of domestic abuse and to educate the community … Continue reading →

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The System of Snitching

Posted on 09/05/2010 by Barbara Kessel

“Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law. To declare that the government may commit crimes in order to secure the conviction of a private criminal_would bring terrible retribution.“ —Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisoners | Leave a comment

The U.S. (In)Justice System Doesn’t Work. The Alternative Just Might

Posted on 09/05/2010 by Mikhail Lyubansky

I’VE BEEN THINKING A LOT ABOUT justice lately, pondering the injustice of the way that justice is administered in this country. For years I’ve pointed out and lamented the racial bias evident in both law enforcement and the criminal courts. … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisoners | Leave a comment

Kiwane Carrington Update

Posted on 05/05/2010 by Public i

According to Champaign City Manager Steve Carter, the appeal of a 30-day suspension given to Daniel Norbits, the officer who shot and killed Kiwane Carrington, was denied. A day after the suspension was announced, an attorney with the Fraternal Order … Continue reading →

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The Public i Honors Workers Who Sacrificed Thier Lives For Corporate Profits

Posted on 05/05/2010 by Public i

An explosion in a coal mine in the mountains of West Virginia killed 29 miners on the morning of April 5, 2010. The Upper Big Branch mine was owned and operated by Massey Energy, which had been cited for numerous … Continue reading →

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Letter by an Undocumented UIUC Student

Posted on 05/05/2010 by anonymous

No identification, no rights. Am I invisible? Where do I belong? Who can I trust? What will I do? How can plan my future? When will I stop being an “illegal alien”? These are the mixture of feelings I have … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Human Rights, Latino/a | Leave a comment

Susan Gage’s New View of a Woman’s Body

Posted on 04/05/2010 by Bonnie Fortune

Bloomington-Normal is the location of Illinois State University, a college in a remote location with a thriving arts program. It is where Suzann Gage went to study art in the 1970s. It is also where she had an epiphany. Gage … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Women | Leave a comment

The Abortion Debate: Now Showing At a Football Game, Billboard, Twitter, Or a Clinic Near You!

Posted on 04/05/2010 by Heather Ault

On Super Bowl Sunday, CBS ran a television commercial by conservative Christian group, Focus on the Family causing an incredible backlash throughout the pro-choice and progressive communities across the country. By viewing this particular advertisement, CBS broke its own policy … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Women | Leave a comment

Learning to Ask the Right Questions About Domestic Violence

Posted on 03/04/2010 by Marya Burke

HOW MANY OF YOU KNEW that the first shelters for animals predated those for women in our society? Legislation and organizations to protect animals and children also came before protections for women. This information was new to me, though unfortunately … Continue reading →

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”Students For Justice In Palestine” Question Israeli Studies

Posted on 11/04/2009 by David Green

On a visit to Israel in 2007, then Chancellor Richard Herman expressed his opposition to a boycott of Israeli academics supported by Great Britain’s University and College Union. Herman stated that “Scholarship and research must remain fluid and borderless, unconstrained … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Human Rights, International | Leave a comment

Statement From CU Citizens for Peace and Justice

Posted on 10/04/2009 by CU Citizens for Peace and Justice

On Friday October 9, 2009, two unarmed 15 year-olds, Kiwane Carrington and another youth, were accosted by Champaign officers—including the Chief of Police—at the place where Kiwane stayed. Kiwane was shot and killed. The other was arrested, at first for … Continue reading →

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Unity March Highlights “Don’t Care” Attitude Toward the Poor

Posted on 10/04/2009 by Brian Dolinar

DESPITE THE DREARY DAY, about 75 people came out for the sixth annual Unity March on October 3, 2009. The event is a unique coming together of black, brown, and white people from both the campus and the community. This … Continue reading →

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Safe Haven Member Back in City Court

Posted on 09/04/2009 by Brian Dolinar

ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, Jesse Masengale returned to city court for two tickets issued to him by Champaign police this summer. A member of the Safe Haven community, Jesse was present when Champaign police showed up on June 8 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Homelessness, Human Rights | Leave a comment