Boise State's Marilyn Shuler Human Rights Initiative recently partnered with the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights to launch a brand-new student organization called Upstander Nation.

Club President Lisaun Whittingham, Wassmuth Center Head Docent Loraine Fortunati and Nepalese student club President Karuna Hengaju at the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial

The club focuses on spreading positivity and highlighting random acts of kindness in the community, both on and off-campus. The goal of the group is to contribute to creating an inclusive, kind and healthy environment for all. Recruitment Officer Cayden Stone summarized the club's vision as "seeing the good and being the good" in the world.

"We're thrilled to have this new collaboration with the Wassmuth Center, our neighbors just across Friendship Bridge," said Lisa Meierotto, director of the Marilyn Shuler Human Rights Initiative and faculty advisor for the club. "This project grew from conversations about how kind and welcoming the Boise State campus is. We recognize how fortunate we are to have that."

On the club's social media page, @upstandernationclub on Instagram, president Lisaun Whittingham shares uplifting quotes, stories of kindness and upcoming event information. Club members attend regular meetings, volunteer their time and set up site visits with local organizations like the Boise Art Museum. The club is also working with the Service-Learning Program on campus to find ways of offering applicable projects for students interested in human rights.

Lisaun described how the club has already reached a wide variety of students across campus.

"We are a very new club, having been formed just last May, but we have already tripled our numbers since the semester started, and hope to continue to grow. I think inclusion and community are values that resonate strongly with Boise State students, and it shows."

Upstander Nation student organization

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