On March 26 the United State Supreme Court heard an appeal to California’s Proposition 8, and the following day listened to oral arguments over the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The issue of same-sex marriage rights is all over the media and the LGBT community is listening.

A lack of education and the absence of cultural understanding were among the reasons cited for human rights violations in Afghanistan at the Afghanistan and State Building Symposium last Friday, hosted by the La Verne College of Law. The symposium, well attended by local and international dignitaries, featured panel speakers from Afghanistan, the U.S. Afghan Women’s Council and Harvard – all of whom shared their views on human rights violations.