Campus unites to combat intolerance

Some people have the privilege to pick up the newspaper, read a sentence like “Once you go black, we don’t want you back,” and think, “that’s silly” then walk away. Others read it and rightfully feel targeted, attacked, unsafe and alienated.

More than 200 people took part in the Hands Across Campus Rally (HACR) Friday in response to the series of homophobic and racist fliers that were distributed on-campus and illegally inserted into copies of The Arbiter. In the short span of 24 hours, a coalition of students, faculty and staff organized HACR. In 30 minutes the coalition collected 305 signatures on the Hands Across Campus Solidarity Statement. Nearly every hour since, I receive an average of 10 emails from individuals wishing to electronically sign.

I’ve also had some folks ask, “Why have a rally?”

For some, it was to stand against racism and homophobia. For others it was against hate, oppression and intolerance or to send a message to the people who made the fliers. For me HACR was a way to let folks in the groups that the flier targeted know that there are a lot of people who accept them and want them to feel safe, not only on campus, but in our community.

Because of the veil of anonymity the perpetrators of the hate speech enjoy, the people they targeted were forced to look around and wonder, “Did one of my classmates or colleagues do this? Is this how everyone feels? Am I safe here?”

That is unacceptable. That is a reason to rally.

I never expected the rally would change the minds of the folks who made the fliers. I am not audacious enough to think a rally will scare them, or entice them to shed their anonymity and engage in reasoned discourse about the differences in our worldviews.

Hands Across Campus was a chance to say, “What this flier says is not OK. It does not represent our university, this state or the values of this country.”

The rally was a chance to shine a light on the power of having conviction in your ideas.

It was a chance to publicly show that our support for diversity and tolerance is not just something we say, but something we are willing to take action to protect.

We must not work to silence or intimidate those who are different than us, but instead engage in discussion with them. Having freedom comes with the responsibility of having to face the ugliness and imperfection in us all.

Incidents of intolerance give us an opportunity to challenge our beliefs, uncover unexamined biases (which we all have) and scrutinize them. It requires us to dive into the complicated history behind our ideologies and into our nation’s roots in order to understand the challenges we face today.

Overcoming racism, oppression, and intolerance is a daily pursuit. It requires persistence, dedication, and openness, as well as love, service and humility. The Hands Across Campus Rally was not the solution to the problem; it was a step in the right direction.

So far 305 people signed the Hands Across Campus Statement of Solidarity:

“An unauthorized group or individual placed a series of homophobic and racist fliers into some copies of The Arbiter and also distributed them on campus. Let us stand in solidarity with our campus community and the groups targeted by the hateful and oppressive messages in the fliers by affirming our commitment to the Boise State University Statement of Shared Values. We are proud to partner with our campus community in ensuring this is a safe and inclusive environment for everyone.”

Boise State Statement of Shared Values

For related content see:

Letter to the Editor: response to hate fliers

KIVI: Hate Flyers Spark Rally on BSU Campus

Idaho Statesman: Boise State, police investigate racist fliers in classrooms

KTVB: BSU students rally against after racist fliers surface on campus

Message from Boise State President Bob Kustra about “nasty and hurtful flyers”

Boise State committed to healthy, safe environment for students

The Weekly Buzz Kill: Homophobia, the ignored American epidemic

Short URL: http://arbiteronline.com/?p=36499

Posted by Shannon Morgan on Dec 13 2009. Filed under Columns, Multimedia, Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.