Students Meet With Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum

UConn students had an opportunity for discussion with the Guatemalan human rights activist during her visit to campus.

Rigoberta Menchú Tum speaks with students at El Instituto in the Ryan Building on Sept. 11, 2012. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Rigoberta Menchú Tum speaks with students at El Instituto in the Ryan Building on Sept. 11, 2012. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Rigoberta Menchú Tum speaks with students at El Instituto, before delivering her human rights address. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Rigoberta Menchú Tum speaks with students at El Instituto, before delivering her human rights address. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum spent a busy day in Storrs on Tuesday before delivering the 2012 UNESCO Chair & Institute of Comparative Human Rights Lecture in the Student Union Theatre.

Menchú Tum spoke with students from El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean and Latin American Studies, and from the Honors Program, before meeting with President Susan Herbst and Amii Omara-Otunnu, UNESCO Chair-holder in Comparative Human Rights.

Discussions with the students were facilitated by Mark Overmyer-Velázquez, director of El Instituto and associate professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Anne Gebelein, assistant professor-in-residence and associate director of El Instituto.

Just before the UNESCO address, there was a screening of “When the Mountains Tremble,” the award-winning documentary about Menchú Tum’s experiences and the struggles and sufferings of the Mayan people.

For video of Menchú Tum’s address, click here.

Rigoberta Menchú Tum, center, speaks with students. At left is Anne Gebelein, associate director of El Instituto. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Rigoberta Menchú Tum, center, speaks with students. At left is Anne Gebelein, associate director of El Instituto. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Rigoberta Menchú Tum speaks with students. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
Rigoberta Menchú Tum speaks with students. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)