'Stop the Hate' promotes diversity

This week the Weber State University Center for Diversity and Unity will hold "Stop the Hate Week" to show the students on campus how diverse they are in so many ways, that students have the oppotunity to be united. "Diversity comes in all aspects of life," said Melinda Tuakoi, director of Diversity for the Center for Diversity and Unity. "Diversity is not just found in race or religion, we can be diverse by political views, financial situations, sexual orientations and much, much more." The WSU Diversity Center will sponsor many activities this week to help spread their message about diversity. They include a poetry slam and open-mic night Monday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Diversity Center at the Union Building, and numerous speakers and discussions about topics in diversity. "When people do not recognize difference, or see them as a sort of 'us and them' false dichotomy, it creates a tension," said Adrian Gillespie, coordinator for the Center for Diversity and Unity. "By creating awareness that there's a lot of diversity, that diversity is okay, that we can still be united and included, even though we are different, we can remove that tension." The theme behind "Stop the Hate Week" is to encourage people to find a common ground, and to use that to learn to respect and care for others in the world. "'Stop the Hate Week' is all about bringing the campus together," said Miles Davis, Stop the Hate Week chair. "We are trying to help the students at WSU learn that there is a large and diverse group of students on campus." Gillespie said the center's motto is "I am diversity, you are diversity." "It's great for us to have our differences and to be different," Gillespie said, "and celebrate those differences, being united." Davis and Gillespie recently returned from training in North Carolina for "Stop the Hate Week." "There are so many new clinics and activities that we can do now to help with 'Stop the Hate Week,'" Gillespie said. "We expect next semester to be great as well." Following the poetry slam Monday night, there will be many other activities for "Stop the Hate Week." Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 12:30 Forrest Crawford will speak on the education and motivation of black students. Wednesday at 2 p.m., WSU professor Brian Davis will speak on ethics across the curriculum. Friday, Nov. 21, will be a cultural day, with many different performers and displays from cultures all over the world. The Center for Diversity and Unity promotes students to find the differences and similarities in each other all the time. "We may be holding Stop the Hate Week this week, but the Center For Diversity and Unity is devoted to stopping hate every week," Gillespie said. The center organizes and participates in events promoting unity year round. "It's hard to hate each other if we have one common thing to agree on," Tuakoi said. "Diversity is people being unique in their own way and unity is finding the things that we agree on and share and being united through those."