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As a citizen of the United States, Jillian Gaeta ’07 (Middletown, N.J.) is guaranteed certain rights, but she realizes that across the globe, millions of others do not share in her fortune.
Gaeta is learning how well people in countries with signed treaties, such as those guaranteeing citizens political rights and civil liberties, are protected from human rights violations by conducting research with Neil Englehart, assistant professor of government and law, for a proposed book being written by the professor.
They are working together through Lafayette’s distinctive EXCEL Scholars program, in which students conduct research with faculty while earning a stipend. The program has helped to make Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. Many of the more than 160 students who participate each year share their work through articles in academic journals and/or conference presentations.
“Obviously, international human rights is a very important issue,” Gaeta says. “We have many rights as American citizens and often take that for granted. Around the world people don’t share in those rights, and as responsible citizens of the world, we should be aware of the practices that go on in other countries and find ways to improve them.”
“The way that people have generally approached human rights is to blame abuses on states and any government abusing its citizens,” Englehart says. “I’m trying to prove that, at least since the end of the Cold War, the bigger problem has been that states have not been able to protect their citizens from each other – the central governments have not been able to do anything about it.”
He cites Afghanistan as an example, where the central government has traditionally been weak and unable to enforce laws, and tribal warlords do anything they want to accomplish their goals and gain power.
“There, a lot more violence is used, because laws are up in the air — in these places, people don’t know what the rules are, so they get caught in the middle of human rights violations,” he says.
One of Gaeta’s responsibilities is to create a database of countries with treaties, labeling the type of treaty, when it was signed, and when human rights violations occurred. This will help determine if the treaty deterred violations or if internal violence continued unchecked.
In addition to giving her insight as to whether international treaties are effective in curbing human rights violations, the research is teaching Gaeta about international human rights dynamics.
“A lot of people just assume that everything the United Nations and individual countries do is right, but that’s not necessarily true,” she explains. “There are a lot of things done to help human rights, but there are a lot of things that are overlooked.”
Her research has helped provide her with the broad-based education she was looking for when she decided to attend Lafayette. For instance, she read up on Immanuel Kant’s philosophical views of human rights. Because her intended major, international affairs, is seeped in politics, this look into the philosophical realm was an opportunity she might not have otherwise received, she says.
Engelhart says Gaeta’s experiences will likely give her an understanding of where the information in the texts and academic journals that she has read comes from.
“She’s learning what primary research is all about,” he adds. “It’s just a whole new world when you’re working on this kind of research — it gives you new insight on where the materials you read are generated.”
Gaeta admits that knowing her research will contribute to a book has inspired her to work harder than if she were just completing work for a class.
“As a student you feel more responsible to strive to a higher standard of work. Not that you wouldn’t necessarily do so in a classroom, but you know that this is going toward something important, and if it gets published, it’s for the whole world to see,” she explains.
Gaeta is a member of Student Government, Students for Social Justice, and the Newman Association, and has participated in mock trial. She also helped found Holla Back, a coalition of students and organizations committed to organizing election-related events and distributing accurate information about elections.
As a national leader in undergraduate research, Lafayette sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year. Forty-two students were accepted to present their work at the annual conference last April.