Stop the Hate is a training program aimed toward providing education on how to curve hate and bias on the University of Idaho campus.
The program will take place 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Administration Building Room 217. Registration for the training can be done online, although it is not required for attendance. It will be offered for anyone who strives to expand their knowledge on hate crimes.
Providing Vandals with the opportunity to understand what actions to take when confronted with hate and bias is the main purpose of the training.
“It is an educational initiative of Campus Pride, Stop the Hate aims to develop and implement campus-wide strategies to reduce hate crimes at colleges and universities,” said Erin Agidius, director of the Office of Civil Rights and Investigations. “Participants will acquire social justice tools for to recognizing, preventing and combating acts of bias and hate on campus, as well as fostering the development of an inclusive and supportive community.”
The training is an introduction and brief overview to determining what Stop the Hate is, its basics and what individuals who want to intervene with hate crimes and biases need to know, Agidius said.
“It’s meant to be a precursor to a more full-length training,” Agidius said.
The program is intended to train individuals what to do when confronted with these types of biases, Agidius said.
“The goal is for people to understand how they can intervene if possible, if they experience hate or bias or if they see it happen on campus as a bystander. How they can intervene, what they can do, and how they can report an incident that happens … we’ll have information on reporting,” said Julia Keleher, program coordinator for the LGBTQA Office.
Along with learning how to approach hate crimes, Keleher said individuals will also be able to learn the difference between hate crimes and bias incidents.
During the training, Keleher said participants will be provided with a general overview and basic information involving hate crimes. The training will include interactive activities, rather than a lecture.
Keleher said the plans for activities are not official yet, although she hopes to have activities that teach individuals about how hate grows, what makes people hateful and the impacts hate has on its victims.
Many of the activities will be based off what is taught in the training, Keleher said. The activities will allow a sense of social interaction while elaborating on what will be discussed during the training.
Not only does the training provide individuals with a chance for personal development, Keleher said these types of trainings are also great resume builders for students looking at jobs for the future.
“By attending this training, I hope that people will acknowledge that we don’t live in this perfect bubble and take that step to attend, to learn how to help to combat those incidents when they do happen,” Agidius said.
Savannah Cardon can be reached at [email protected]