Pathways for problem solving
CMC’s
interdisciplinary rigor and leadership preparation are ideal windows into the Mgrublian Center’s natural evolution— to not only encourage students to make a difference in their communities, but find substantive career paths for the good they want to pursue. In the past, students who had experienced “deep learning and enlightenment” at CMC in courses related to human rights, Holocaust history, and other genocides, would leave campus with every intention of acting on this passion and then sadly, “often have a hard time applying it to a real occupation,” Lower said. Beyond developing a new understanding of the world—what it means to be human and to be inhumane—Lower wants Mgrublian Center students to find a vocational track, be it through the law or elsewhere. Elyssa Elbaz ’94, a Mgrublian Center board member and CMC trustee, is also addressing the same need by funding the Elbaz Postgraduate Fellowship. By supporting new graduates for a year of human rights professional experience, the fellowship creates a bridge between college to the human rights working world by focusing on leadership training, project management, field work and research, and advocacy. Peltola, who entered the master’s of human rights studies program at Columbia University this fall, is a prime example of deeper engagement. The Justice League training she’s received will only benefit her long-term goal: To advocate for victims of rape and gender-based violence in armed conflict through an interdisciplinary approach combining legal, psychological, and physical support and protections. “Supporting students requires more imagination. No matter what they pursue in their lives, we want them to graduate from CMC with an understanding of human rights as central to moral conduct and ethical decisions in their personal lives, careers, and the public arena,” Lower said. “That’s another reason why we’re excited about where this is heading. The Justice League is clear cut. Students can see many serious pathways for applying their passion and knowhow to solving real life problems.”
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m o o r s s Cla s n o i t c e conn Starting this fall, Wendy Lower added
a new seminar that builds academic rigor into the Mgrublian Center’s domestic human rights connections. History 197: Racism Today and Human Rights Abuses, Historical Dimensions, and Redress combines readings and discussions on the history of racial violence and injustice with handson research. Students are divided into teams assigned to collect data for current legal investigations of police brutality and other historical human rights abuses. Lower has enlisted a multidisciplinary team of faculty to cover related niches. Nazareth Haysbert and his staff are leading research workshops in qualified immunity, prosecutorial immunity, law enforcement bodyworn camera regulations, and barriers to police brutality prosecutions. Mark Palmer ’88 P’19 and his daughter, Paloma ’19 (a Boren Scholar who is interested in international human rights law), are assisting student groups. Guest speakers include celebrated photojournalist Eli Reed, who documented George Floyd’s funeral iconography. A longer-term goal of the course, Lower said, is to go beyond the archives and “actually make proposals for solutions” to racial injustice and other domestic human rights problems.
CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE