Human Rights at Home and Abroad: Past, Present, and Future

Introduction
The 11 th Annual Frederick Douglass Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Conference took place on
April 14 and 15, 2011 at Bloomsburg University. Our theme for this year‘s conference was ―Human
Rights at Home and Abroad: Past, Present, and Future,‖ and the Frederick Douglass Institute was
fortunate to collaborate with the Institute for Human Rights and Social Justice, a student group at
Bloomsburg University advised by Dr. Babak Mohassel. Our keynote speaker, Travis Johnson, Family
Law Staff Attorney for The Door in New York City, gave a talk entitled ―All Children Are Created Equal,
Too: The Disparate Treatment of Youth Rights in the United States‖ to an audience of about 250
students, faculty, and staff. Johnson argued that U.S. born young people who are sexually exploited are
rarely viewed as victims by the courts, unlike their immigrant peers. Johnson argues that minors, who
cannot legally consent to sex with an adult, should not be charged with prostitution and related criminal
charges.
In addition, the conference featured approximately 50 student presentations from Bloomsburg
University, Mansfield University, Kutztown University, and West Chester University. Many other
students and faculty attended these presentations. These proceedings contain a selection of those
conference presentations.
A student Presentation Students sign in at Conference Registration table
Notice: Student writers retain the copyright to their original work. The writing herein may not be used without the
consent of the individual authors.
2