On one end of the spectrum, many students were eager to sign their name to the white sheet; this was their way of pledging to be more open and accepting of others, as well as trying to reduce the amount of hate that surrounds them in their day-to-day lives.  Students that made the pledge received an Anti-Hate button and informational sheets on ways to reduce hate.  SOFD’s President, Lance Boehmer, was pleased with the outcome:  “The Anti-Hate campaign was a great success with over 200 signatures!”  Students, as well as faculty members, contributed to that number.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, however, some students were not happy with the campaign.  SOFD was appalled to find out the number of students on the Lake State campus that would not even take five seconds out of their daily routines to help a good cause.  Some students blatantly made fun of the members and their campaign; others just walked off and even accused the members of “trying to push their own beliefs onto others.”  This only confirmed to SOFD that Lake State needs to be more aware of, and tolerant of, diversity-related issues.

    To clear up what SOFD intended to do, take a look at the club’s mission statement, “The Student Organization for Diversity was formed in an effort to promote diversity and tolerance at the Lake Superior State University and surrounding community.  We exist to inform students and public about the importance of respecting those who are diverse and from diverse backgrounds.”  The Anti-Hate campaign was just that, promoting diversity and tolerance in the form of eliminating hate-based crimes/statements.

SOFD urges students and faculty members to take small steps in their lives to promote awareness and discourage discrimination and intolerance.  How can you do this?  Here are ten easy ways to reduce discrimination and intolerance (also called hate):

1.    Get involved.  Don’t just sit back and allow discrimination and intolerance to occur.  Apathy can be conceived as acceptance, and you don’t want to be accepting of intolerant behavior.

2.    Get others to help.  Call a trusted faculty member, or even friends.  Get together with these people and inform those around you that you won’t tolerate discriminatory behaviors.

3.    Be supportive.  If you know someone that has been victimized by discrimination, let them know that you are there for them.  Being alone makes the pain worse.

4.    Do some research.  Open your mind.  Knowing how these behaviors affect you, and others, just might shock you.  Dig into the subject, push the social boundaries, get people talking.

5.    Find an alternative.  If you are angry or frustrated with someone, don’t blame it on their race, religion, sexuality, etc.  Address the real issue, or talk to someone about your feelings.  

6.    Get loud.  Don’t remain silent.  You have just as much right to exercise free speech to speak out against hate, discrimination, and intolerance as the individuals who promote these behaviors.

7.    Lobby.  You would be surprised how much power you can gain by asking politicians, business/community leaders, etc to speak out and take a stand against hate.  

8.    Think about the future.  Attend parades, cultural fairs, diversity events, etc.  If your community does not hold these types of events, start them.  Join or create clubs to back these events.

9.    Promote acceptance.  Intolerance is a learned behavior.  Take measures to ensure that young children in your family and community are not exposed to this type of thinking.

10.    Ask questions.  Look into issues of racism, discrimination, and intolerance on your campus, in your workplace, and even in your own home.  The more questions you ask, the more you might be surprised to find how much hate is present in your day-to-day life.

SOFD will continue their Anti-Hate campaign in local schools in March.  If you are interested in helping with the campaign, or just learning more about diversity-related issues, contact SOFD President Lance Boehmer at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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