About Us

Our History

Early Period

It is known with some certainty that the current Amnesty group at Yale has existed continuously since 2002. Materials have been found which suggest the presence of an Amnesty group at Yale as far back as 1996.

Known History

In 2005, Amnesty coordinators were Tiffany Wan and Svetlana Alkayeva, with contemporaries Jen James, Agata Kostecka, Katherine Jan, and Tinbet Tecle. In Spring 2006, coordinators were Tinbet Tecle and Edwin Everhart, with Katherine Jan and Nick Karzon. Weekly tabling was introduced in Spring 2006. In Spring 2005 and Spring 2006, the Amnesty club held "Rock for Rights" benefit concerts in Dwight Hall. In Fall 2006, membership and activity increased dramatically.

2007 coordinators were Nick Karzon and Katherine Jan, with notable contributions from Miguel Veloz, Carl Kubler, David Crockett, Sara Freiberg, and others. At this time we began to have some graduate student participation, notably with Stephen Baumgart. This period also saw the introduction of the tabling coordinator, which was a major step to increased division of labor and effectiveness.

2008 coordinators were Edwin Everhart and Miguel Veloz. Tabling co-coords were Stav Atir and Lily Yan. Bernie Kuan was treasurer. Carl Kubler was secretary. Bing Han was publicity coordinator. Other notable members included Samantha Broussard-Wilson, Pruittiporn Kerdchoochuen, David Colognori, Nora Jacobsen, and Sarika Arya. Graduate student and death penalty activist Ben Jones also participated. In Fall 2008, membership increased more than ever before. On Saturday, October 4, the Yale Amnesty group hosted the Connecticut State Meeting for the first time. The State Meeting had previously been hosted at Wesleyan. The 2008 Meeting had much more content and two to three times as much turnout as previous Meetings.

In 2009, Helen Jack and Stav Atir were elected coordinators for the Spring, and Nora Jacobsen and Stav Atir for the Fall. Helen Jack was designated primary organizer of the 2009 State Meeting.

In 2010, Pruittiporn Kerdoochen and Helen Jack were elected Co-Coordinators.

In 2011, Katie Haas, Katy Naples-Mitchell, and Ewelina Rudnicka were elected co-coordinators. Ewelina was set to take over for Katy when she returned from a semester abroad in Geneva, where she had been studying human rights.