By joining IECs for Human Rights, you're taking a step to become an advocate in higher education for issues related to equity, access, safety, justice, and common sense. We believe that IECs are collectively well-positioned to speak up and take action about the issues that affect our students. In our group, you'll have the opportunity to use your voice, your ideas, and your time to make an impact on a larger scale than in your one-on-one student meetings.
Our mission is to promote progressive change for disadvantaged students by advocating for them within our organizations, to colleges, and to leaders in government.
We are:- The only advocacy group for IECs
- 175 members strong and growing
- Unaffiliated with HECA, IECA, NACAC, and other organizations
- Committed to grassroots, direct-action effort
We are not a 501(c)3 nonprofit, which means we choose to sacrifice tax benefits for the flexibility to take any action we want to advance the interests of all students, including making direct campaign contributions if we choose to.
IECs for Human Rights has already achieved some major accomplishments:
- Organized March 2023 letter-writing campaign to gender-affirming colleges in states with anti-trans legislation: 2184 emails, 51 colleges, 15 states -- all explaining current and pending anti-trans legislation and its effects on students, applicants, and potential enrollment
- Called on HECA and IECA to release statements in support of human rights, leading to the publication of those statements and the creation of the "Road to Florida" IECA task force ahead of the conference in Tampa
- Submitted 9 human rights-related breakout session proposals for the IECA conference, 9 mainstage speaker recommendations, and 3 suggestions for LGBTQ+-related social events; the majority of the breakout sessions were selected and offered at the Tampa conference.
- Leading a roundtable session about anti-trans legislation for NACAC's fall conference in Baltimore, in collaboration with Shiwali Patel, Senior Counsel at the National Women's Law Center, and independent journalist-activist Erin Reed.
Are you an IEC concerned about human rights? Do you support our mission? Do you want to engage in meaningful dialogue and work to create change? Join below.
Direct any questions to IECs for Human Rights cofounders Robert Powers (robert@collegetorch.com, he/him) and Carolyn Caplan (carolyn@admissionsmom.college, she/her). We promise we're friendly!
