For students looking to spend their summers making a difference, a new program is coming to Laurier that might help them do just that. The Genocide and Human Rights University Program (GHRUP) offers students a two-week course that studies issues of genocide and human rights. Organized by the International Institute of Genocide and Human Rights Studies, GHRUP offers students a chance to explore genocides of the past and learn from them. Topics covered include the Holocaust, Cambodia and Rwanda.
Despite the program’s grim subject matter, participants have found they enjoyed it. One student, Daniela Kiszti, relates her experiences with the program.
“There are lots of people who would benefit from an opportunity like this; I know I did,” says Kiszti. “I emerged a better, wiser person with a revived passion and a motivation to seeing an end to human rights abuses and injustices.”
Kiszti stresses that the opportunity is not only beneficial to political science or history students, but to students of all kinds of disciplines. With Laurier Brantford’s focus on a wide range of liberal arts degrees, the program may be a good fit for many.
The program is relatively young, currently entering its tenth year. It is held in both Minneapolis and Toronto. Completing the 65-hour course also leaves students eligible to earn graduate-level credits.
GHRUP is currently accepting applicants for its summer 2011 positions, currently scheduled to run for two weeks in early-mid August. So if you find yourself looking for a way to spend the summer – and if that job flipping burgers at McDonald’s isn’t quite as glamorous as you’d hoped – why not give GRHUP a try?
To learn more, visit GHRUP at http://www.genocidestudies.org.