Student runs for human rights group

A student at Indiana University School of Law – Indianapolis is hoping to raise enough funds to increase the budget for the school's International Human Rights Law Society by asking for pledges for his participation in the Indianapolis Marathon Oct. 18.

The student organization's vice president, Adam Dolce, has asked for suggested pledges ranging from 10 cents to $1 per mile he completes in the 26.2-mile race. He has also suggested $5 pledges if he finishes in 3 hours 10 minutes, the qualifying time for the Boston Marathon; and there's a spot on his pledge form to pledge $10 in case he dies during the marathon.

The IHRLS is the student group that has researched, written, and presented shadow reports to experts for the United Nations Human Rights Council. Funds for the organization bring international human rights experts to speak at the school and also help cover the students' expenses for completing the reports and for travel to the U.N.

For instance, a member of the group traveled to Panama on winter break during the 2007-08 school year for research for a report on human rights violations. Other members of the group traveled to the U.N. in New York City in March to present the report to human rights experts, who asked questions during council meetings based on the research in those reports.

Students also have traveled to The Hague to present a report about the United States in 2006, and traveled to the U.N. in New York City to present a report about Chile in 2007.

Most of the expenses for the research and travel for these reports is paid out of students' own pockets, and typically they will stay with people they know personally or through other group members to save on the cost of lodging.

A story about the 2008 trip to the U.N. by members of the IHRLS was published in the April 30-May 13, 2008, issue of Indiana Lawyer.

Schools with similar programs tend to have larger budgets to cover all travel and research expenses, according to IU School of Law – Indianapolis students who met with other student groups in March.

Dolce is trying to match the $375 the group has been apportioned for the 2008-09 school year. He is contacting friends, family, and his co-workers in the Indiana Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division, and has asked them to contact their networks.

For the pledges, Dolce also asks that donors write checks not to him but directly to the IHRLS. To make a pledge or for more information, contact Dolce via e-mail [email protected], phone (765) 618-8907, or mail checks written to "International Human Rights Law Society" or "IHRLS" to Dolce at 12824 Hanley Dr., Fishers, IN 46037.

A more in-depth story about Dolce's fundraising efforts will be in the Oct. 29 issue of Indiana Lawyer.