Hundreds join 'Stop the Hate March'

More than 300 students from across campus took part in a "Stop the Hate March," a University-wide awareness-raising event held Nov. 1 in response to recent hate crimes taking place on
and around campus.

Organized by the Office of Residence Life and facilitated by several campus groups—including La Raza, SAFE (Students Advocating for Freedom and Equality) and MSN (Minority Student Network)—the event began with brief candle-lighting ceremonies as students from residence halls congregated in common areas, lit each others' candles and marched en masse to the Trabant University Center Patio to participate in the rest of the evening's educational and awareness-building events.

Reports of a serious assault and several criminal mischief incidents on campus, including several instances of racist and anti-Semitic graffiti on walls, first led to an Oct. 20 letter sent by UD President David P. Roselle to the University community stating that UD "must and will have a zero tolerance for hate."

"There is no place at the University of Delaware for those whose credo is meanness and whose method is intimidation. Those who engage in acts of hatred and bias-motivated threats and behavior
will be confronted, prosecuted and expelled from our community,  Roselle wrote in his letter.

As part of a developing University-wide campaign, a web site also has been created to offer contact information for reporting hate crimes, [www.udel.edu/PR/ zerotolerance].

Students who took part in the march voiced their concerns.

"I know people who have been victims of hate crimes, and I want to show my support," Tya Pope, a junior political science and women's studies major from Milford, Del., said. "I think that by taking a stand we're showing that we know what's going on and are not going to let it slide. Marching shows numbers, unity and solidarity, and there are also many groups on campus who are taking a stand."

Billy Collins, a senior English major from New Castle, Del., who is also involved in the campus gay rights and awareness group, HAVEN, echoed this sentiment. "In the past several years, the campus has seen an increase in the number of hate crimes," he said. "I don't have any theories for why that is, but this march shows that students are taking
a stand against such crimes.

As students from all corners of campus arrived in groups of 50 or more, chanting peace slogans, bearing candles and waving handmade signs denouncing hatred, the message outside the Trabant University Center was clear: Crimes of hate will not be tolerated or ignored on campus.

"I think it's a good idea to send a very clear message that this sort of behavior cannot go any further," Michal Masango, an MBA student from Cameroon, said. "If you sit back and allow it to go on without taking a firm stand, it creates a breeding ground for more of the same behavior," she said.

"I think combating hate and hate crimes starts at a personal level," Jacqueline Winslow, a graduate student in communication from Newark, said. "I work in the Office of Residence Life, and I know there are a lot of opportunities for students to educate themselves on ways to handle differences and learn tolerance. It is very hard to hate someone once you make an effort to get to know and understand him or her."