Students rally in solidarity with Iran

Students must become more aware about the continuing fight for Iranian rights, Amnesty International representatives said at a rally Thursday.

A group of about 30 students gathered outside the George Sherman Union chanting ‘Free Iran,’ handing out fliers with facts about human rights and reading poetry as part of BU’s Amnesty International rally for Iran ‘Students Stand Up.’

Rally organizers wanted to raise awareness about the aftermath of the 2009 Iranian presidential election as well as to show solidarity with Iranian protesters across the globe, they said.

‘We want to inspire students at BU and we want to show students in Iran that their actions and bravery aren’t going unrecognized,’ Shahrzad Noorbaloochi, College of Arts and Sciences junior and co-president of the BU chapter of Amnesty International, said. ‘We are with them.’

Members of BU’s Amnesty International held up posters with slogans such as ‘Students stand up,’ ‘Solidarity with Iran,’ and ‘Where is my Vote?’ which is a popular phrase used by protesters nationwide.

Two large banners were also put on display outside GSU that read, ‘Students stand up for Iran’ and ‘Iranian students BU is with you.’ The club said they had hoped to play Persian music and have images and videos of protests and riots in Iran displayed on a screen outdoors, but they had trouble gathering the needed technology in time.

Amnesty International teamed up with BU’s slam poetry group Speak For Yourself to coordinate the rally. During the rally, members of the slam poetry group recited human rights-themed poetry to ‘spark a fire in people,’ CAS senior and Speak for Yourself Vice President Jonathan Remple said.

‘We’re putting this together to show what students are doing in Iran is necessary,’ Remple said. ‘It’s hypocritical not to think of these issues.’

The group also collaborated with Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Amnesty International branch on the rally. On Tuesday, MIT hosted a lecture about Iran featuring Noam Chomsky as part of the Students Stand Up event.

‘There’s a real struggle going on in Iran that people aren’t aware of,’ CAS freshman and Amnesty International club member Tino Bratbo said. ‘But it’s something worth paying attention to and supporting. We want to snap students out of apathy.’

College of General Studies sophomore Ariana Katz said she attended the rally because she believes ‘BU activism should step up.’

‘I came to support the organization and the students in Iran who are doing the same thing we are doing: protesting,’ she said.

Treasurer of Amnesty International and CAS senior Kate Wrobel said she hopes that the rally helps inform and educate BU students on issues overseas.

‘I feel everyone always turns to the nuclear weapons issue in Iran and neglects the human rights issues,’ she said.

Students sported Green headbands, the color symbolizing peace in the Iranian movement. The group also provided free hot chocolate to attendees.

‘This is the biggest event we’ve done in a few years,’ CAS senior BU Amnesty International and co-president Caryn Steinbrecher said. ‘We hope to accomplish inciting passion in people because BU used to be a huge hub for protests and we want to bring it back.’
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