SMU’s Human Rights Education Program is now a reality.

Dr. Rick Halperin is happy to proclaim that, “It’s not a theory anymore, its here.”

Human Rights will officially become a minor degree program at SMU by the fall semester. Halperin, the director of SMU’s Human Rights Education Program, has been working on this since July 1 of last year when Dedman College received a sizeable gift from the Embrey family for the program.

The minor will be 18 hours and combines several classes from the film studies, anthropology and women’s studies departments.

The endowment from the Embrey family will provide funds for student scholarships, travel expenses and programming. The endowment, according to Halperin, will “help institutionalize the pedagogy of human rights studies on this campus.”

The Dedman undergraduate council has passed a new Human Rights minor proposal through, which is now in the hands of the provost’s office, which will take one final look over the list of required courses.

“It was time for SMU to offer a program that coincided with all the opportunities that students on campus who are passionate about human rights have, such as those who went on the Civil Rights Movement this past Spring Break,” senior Liz Healy, a member of the Academic Planning and Policy Management Committee said.

Halperin also points out that many of SMU’s faculty and students already cover several aspects of human rights within the context of their classes, but now wants to capitalize on that interest saying, “We want to actually get people into places of the world where terrible things have occurred, and ask them to reflect on it and write on it when they get back.”

SMU will be the 12th school in the country with a human rights program of study, and Halperin is looking forward to receiving student feedback explaining that, “We want the best minor and best program possible.”