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Pomona
College Senior Wins Prestigious Marshall Scholarship
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 Sarah Cook, a senior at Pomona College, has been awarded a
prestigious Marshall Scholarship, funded by the British
government. The scholarship funds two years of study at a
top British university of the recipient’s choice and is
worth approximately $60,000. Cook will use the funds to earn
two one-year Masters degrees, one in Middle East politics
and one in conflict resolution and development.
An international relations major, Cook’s career plans
involve attending law school and ultimately, working for the
United Nations or a leading non-governmental human rights
organization, conducting research and designing strategies
that advance the implementation of human rights law.
Cook, who grew up in Israel and on the East Coast of the
United States, became interested in human rights while
serving in the Israeli Army for two years. “Studying Arabic,
Islam and Middle Eastern history added to my understanding
of the situation in the occupied territories,” she says. “I
came to realize that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could
only be resolved when the most basic rights to employment,
health and education are ensured for those who live in the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip.”
In college, her interest in human rights work grew and
solidified as she became interested in and a practitioner of
Falun Gong, which she describes as “a Chinese spiritual
practice that emphasizes self-improvement… It profoundly
changed my outlook on life as I refocused my attention on
others’ needs and perspectives,” she explains. “With tens of
millions of people being violently oppressed in China for
the same exercises I do each morning, I grew impassioned to
fight for an end to human rights abuses.”
Cook hasn’t waited until graduation to begin her work. She
has served as president of the Claremont Colleges Amnesty
International chapter and advocated for Eritrean
journalists; served as the first Pomona College
representative to the Claremont Center for the Study of the
Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights; and is a
co-coordinator of the Pomona College Falun Dafa Club.
In 2002, Cook wrote several sections of a report submitted
to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against
Women. She has also served as an intern at the International
Institute for Human Rights in Strausbourg, France and
attended their summer session on international human rights
and humanitarian law. In April 2003 and April 2004, as a
representative of the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group,
she attended the annual meeting of the UN High Commission on
Human Rights in Geneva, attending plenary meetings and
non-governmental organization forums, meeting with Special
Rapporteurs and speaking with delegates from different
countries. (Cook speaks fluent English, French and Hebrew
and speaks elementary Chinese.)
“I came away from the experience,” Cook says, “disturbed by
the discrepancy between laws and their implementation, as
well as how the Commission is plagued by political and
economic forces that cause it to disregard some of the
world’s most serious human rights violations. However the
experience also strengthened my resolve to find a way to
reconcile political or economic interests and safeguard
every person’s right to dignity, security and freedom. I
plan to dedicate my life to designing and implementing
strategies that promote mutual understanding and peaceful
coexistence, all the while using a legal framework to define
human rights and punish abusers.” While Cook’s recent
experience has concentrated on human rights issues in China,
in the future she plans to focus on the Middle East as well.
Pomona College, one of the nation’s premier liberal arts
institutions, offers a comprehensive program in the arts,
humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Its
hallmarks include small classes, close relationships between
students and faculty, and a range of opportunities for
student research. Visit Pomona College on the web at
www.pomona.edu.
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