Students organize global injustice conference

University of Richmond senior Mark Mendez said he hoped students would be motivated to address issues of global injustice after participating in the on-campus conference he had organized, "Through the Eyes of a Child."

The conference will host speakers and organizations on a wide range of issues - from human trafficking in Southeast Asia to an organization that uses sports as a means to help people in conflict-ridden areas recognize their commonalities. The conference will be held on campus on April 16 and 17.

"The idea is to bring a diversity of different topics so that there's something for everyone," Mendez said.

Mendez discussed the meaning behind the conference title.

"On an individual basis, if we see things through the eyes of a child, if we see things the way they really are, rather than through our own lenses, we'll see a problem that we can address in some way," he said.

Mendez said he had borrowed the name of the conference from Lynchburg College. The college had held a conference that put a face on genocide, which Mendez said personalized the issue and made it concrete.

Senior Sara Perkins helped Mendez organize the conference. The conference will highlight people and organizations that are making differences around the world, she said.

"There needs to be more of this on campus," Perkins said. "We're young college students. We have so much energy and we can do so much."

Perkins, a studio art major, said she was excited about seeing Andrew Briggs, the founder of Freedom in Creation. Freedom in Creation uses art therapy to help former child soldiers and victims of violence, Perkins said. An exhibition of the children's artwork will be set up in Jepson for more than a week, and Briggs will speak at 6 p.m. on April 16 in Jepson 103.

"Through the Eyes of a Child" does not just want to show the world's problems, but also how people use practical skills and creativity to make a difference, Perkins said.

Mendez said: "It doesn't matter if you're a doctor or just a crazy college student with a lot of free time and energy. There's something you can do - the problems are so immense, you can't just leave them up to a certain kind of person."

STAND, a student anti-genocide coalition at Richmond, is one of the human rights groups on campus participating in the conference, said freshman Maria Sebastian, president of STAND.

STAND will be hosting William Deng, a former Lost Boy of Sudan and a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, Sebastian said. Deng will speak at 5 p.m. on April 16 in Jepson 120.

"He's going to be talking about his experience to raise awareness," Sebastian said, "especially since there are still thousands of boys and teenagers who are now young men that are still in captivity as a result of a civil war that happened years ago."

On April 17, "Through the Eyes of a Child" will be hosting Alex Mejias, a singer and songwriter from Charlottesville, Va., and Chris Gordon, a Richmond alumnus who will present his documentary, "Down the Road."

Gordon and his co-creators made the documentary by traveling through Central America and documenting both its heartbreak and beauty, Mendez said.

"They see issues of extreme poverty and child prostitution," Mendez said, "but at the same time they see it in these cultures that are incredibly hospitable and happy."

Mejias will perform at 8 p.m. in the Greek Theatre and Gordon will show his documentary at 9 p.m.

Although there are many socially active people at Richmond, it's not a socially active campus, Mendez said.

"My hope was to bring together enough of the socially active people and to inspire the students to start realizing that no matter what you do, no matter what your major is, there's a problem out there that you can directly impact, and have a big impact on," he said.

Contact reporter Laurie Guilmartin at laurie.guilmartin@richmond.edu