This week’s spotlight is on Kathryn Clinard, a 2nd year double major in Political and Social thought and English, is spotlighted for her incredible work with the Human Rights Film Festival. Kathryn became involved with the festival after meeting 4th year Stephanie de Wolfe who created the festival; Kathryn explains that the festival combines her two main interests – film and activism. The festival was a big success with a viewer number ranging from 15-60 people. Kathryn explains that “students at UVa love to engage in a tradition of service, but too often we go paint house, or volunteer for an hour, without giving thought to the structures that create the very inequality we seek to ameliorate. These films highlight and critique these silenced structural inequalities.” Through her commitment to this festival, Kathryn hopes to “change the way students at UVa approach their education. I believe we should always be looking beyond our performance in the classroom, and seeking to engage critically with issues locally and abroad.” In the future, Kathryn plans on furthering these goals by having a career that will focus on activism and issues of social justice. Kathryn is being spotlighted for her central goals for this festival which center around creating change and engaging others in unconventional ways.
If you would like to learn more about the Human Rights Festival, please contact Kathryn at kmc9qr@virginia.edu. To see further information about the films, see http://hrffatuva.tumblr.com/
