|
|
|
One of the 22 schools outreach associate Brandon Wilson visited this spring was the University of Idaho.
(Doug Lindley/Idaho State Journal) |
|
|
Aug. 4, 2004 -- When students return to Hastings College later this month, they'll be coming back to a safer, more inclusive campus.
Last spring Brandon Wilson, the Center's outreach associate, visited Hastings to train students and administrators on 10 Ways to Fight Hate on Campus. He was invited by a faculty member disturbed by students' consistent use of demeaning language toward one another. During Wilson's visit, it became clear that students agreed with that concern: the use of homophobic put-downs, they said, had become a part of the campus's "everyday language."
After the training, Hastings College administrators acted quickly and pledged to launch an initiative, based on the model for Bias Response Teams, to address this and other challenges affecting the campus community. Faculty members on the team act as allies for students who report bias incidents or hate crimes and discuss action to be taken against the perpetrator.
With the help of Center supporters, Wilson provided free training sessions to 22 college campuses last spring.
As a direct result of his visits, many campus administrators, like those at Hastings, have taken steps to foster a more tolerant learning environment for their students.
- The University of Alabama hired its first African American vice president, whose first task is to ensure the construction of a diversity center;
- Auburn University created a diversity campaign celebrating the differences in its community and formed an on-campus NAACP chapter; and
- Fort Lewis College incorporated "fighting hate on campus" into its sociology curriculum.
"Colleges are ultimately responsible for using the tools we offer them," Wilson said. "But the Center is committed to being their ally and helping them build campus communities that deter hate and promote inclusion."
Wilson has already scheduled fall training sessions at 11 college campuses, including schools in North Carolina, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Canada. The Center also plans to distribute thousands more copies of the 10 Ways to Fight Hate on Campus guidebook, now in its third printing.
Because of its generous supporters, the Center will continue to offer the guidebook and training sessions free of charge, so every school can benefit from this important effort.
Ensure institutes of higher learning fight hate and promote tolerance on their campuses by supporting the Center today!
|
