Anti-Death Penalty Activist Organizes Alternative Spring Breaks
Hooman Hedayati, a student at the University of Texas-Austin and a Campus Progress Student Advisory Board Member, has spent much of his college career challenging one of the most problematic and entrenched practices of the Texas criminal justice system – the death penalty. In the capital of the state that puts most people to death in the country, Hooman has been relentless and resourceful in his attempts to mobilize and educate students for change. Hooman is currently working on the fourth annual Alternative Spring Break Against the Death Penalty in Austin, TX, and is working closely with Campus Progress and other national and student organizations to create other spring break programs on issues like global warming and the war in Iraq. "By becoming involved, you can join the next generation of civil rights activists and work toward a progressive change in your community," he said. "You can challenge others, and most importantly, challenge yourself to do the most you can within your community to affect positive policy change."
The spring breaks he has worked on have been featured on NPR, MTVU, MTV’s Total Request Live, and a host of other national and local media. They have also brought together students from across the country to learn about the issue, work on the skills they need to make a difference, and take action through lobby days, rallies, and candle light vigils. There is always a focus on hearing from exonerated former death row inmates and the families of those who have faced the death penalty.
"I oppose the death penalty because it is racist, it punishes the poor, and condemns the innocent to die," he said. "The death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime and is 'Cruel and Unusual Punishment.'”
Hooman first got involved after attending the first spring break against the death penalty in 2005. He was inspired by what he learned at this event, and worked with other students to start Texas Students Against the Death Penalty, which is the first all-volunteer, student-run grassroots organization that works to end the death penalty through campaigns of public education and the promotion of youth activism.
|
