About Us
Students for Human Rights is an organization at the University of Chicago created by undergraduate students in 2005 to address and promote awareness of human rights issues at the city-wide level in Chicago. Since our inception, we have worked on campaigns concerning health care rights and police brutality, primarily on the South Side of Chicago, where our university is located. During the course of 2005 and the first half of 2006, SHR collaborated with the Human Rights program the University of Chicago and the People's Law Office in compiling the evidence of torture committed by Command Jon Burge and calling for his prosecution. Cmdr. Burge abused his position in the Chicago Police Department by committing thoroughly documented racially targeted acts of torture. His actions resulted in a number of false confessions that eventually led to the sentencing of several men to death row.
Our group has also worked on a health care rights campaign in conjunction with the Service Employees International Union against the chronic abuses perpetrated by Advocate Hospitals, one of the largest health care providers in Chicago. Advocate misallocated federal funding by providing inadequate care in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods: some of their hospitals stood for nearly a year without enough food, linens or hot water. Meanwhile, hospitals in the same chain but located in affluent communities provided quality care in state-of-the-art facilities. These discriminatory policies have been shown to violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Students for Human Rights have also collaborated with a number of on-campus groups in bringing informative events to the University of Chicago campus. Some of our partners include StandUp! for Progress, Young Democratic Socialists, UCDems.
Join us in our struggle to bring more fairness and equality to our beloved city.