Despite similar overcast and gloomy skies to Oregon, 19 UO students traveled almost 5,000 miles for the opportunity to attend a conference on global justice and human rights at Oxford University during their spring break.

A total of nine Clark Honors College undergraduate students and 10 graduate students from the Conflict Dispute Resolution Program were selected for the conference.  The program, in its second year, was made possible through The Stern Fellowships Fund.  Students from other universities also joined the group for the week-long trip.

The conference held personal resonance with Ben Nussbaumer, a junior and economics major, because of his prior involvement in the military.  The 24-year-old was given the opportunity to share his experiences during two overseas trips as a Marine infantryman with the group.

“I got to see a lot of the world in that time and interact with a lot of cultures and people and gave me an interest in a world beyond the United States,” Nussbaumer said.

Nussbaumer came away from the full days of seminars, workshops and discussions with a deeper understanding for human rights.  His favorite part of each day, however, was team time, a break during the morning where he, his peers and faculty members gathered together in an old dining hall, drank coffee and tea and discussed what they had learned.  It is something he wishes would be imitated in other programs.

“I hope they come out with a deeper appreciation of human rights. There really is immense value of hearing about this from the perspective of another country outside of the United States,” Cheyney Ryan, a UO professor emeritus in the Conflict and Dispute Resolution Program told the University of Oregon in a recent Around the O article.

Students also worked with Hugo Slim, a senior research fellow at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict and one of Oxford’s leading authorities on the area of human rights.

Hayley Shapiro, a senior studying international relations, appreciated the straightforward and honest worldview of the lecturers and guest speakers. Though it was a little disheartening at times, she believes that the no-nonsense worldview helped to raise a level of maturity and awareness in the group. Shapiro, who travels the world working as a humanitarian clown through the Gesundheit institute, was able to come away with a more holistic view of humanitarian work within all its levels.

“If anything I came away humbled that these people were willing to share their experience and be so raw about it,” Shapiro said.  “I think it’s definitely left an imprint on everyone, regardless of everything they have seen or have been through, they are still passionate about their work.”

The insight provided has motivated Nussbaumer and Shapiro to pursue an interest within this field, although still exploring through which outlet.

“I think its valuable to consider the humanity of other people,” Nussbaumer said. “Even in the most discouraging of circumstances such as war, there can be a resolution and that it’s a goal worth pursing if someone is interested in trying to make life better for people.”