Last modified: Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Southern Poverty Law Center to present 'Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus' at IU Bloomington
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 1, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Brandon Wilson of the Southern Poverty Law Center will present a program at Indiana University Bloomington on Tuesday (Feb. 7) on "Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus."
The program, which is a national activity of the center's Teaching Tolerance program, will be given at 7 p.m. in Whittenberger Auditorium of the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. Seventh St. A leadership and diversity information fair will be held immediately afterward in the IMU's State Room East. The public is invited to both of these free events.
Sponsors include the Commission on Multicultural Understanding, the Office of Diversity Education and Union Board.
"This is a great opportunity for student leaders and emerging leaders to get valuable training that will help them in their roles on campus and for the overall campus climate," said Eric Love, director of the IU Office of Diversity Education. "We also welcome faculty, staff and the community because we recognize how important our campus is to Bloomington and how important the Bloomington community is to IU."
Wilson is the founder of the Ten Ways to Fight Hate on Campus program and tour. The program is dedicated to ensuring that no college or university goes without the tools needed to respond to hate and bias.
Wilson's drive to make college communities stronger began in 2001, while he was working in Student Affairs at Auburn University. Wilson was asked to respond to photographs of a campus Halloween party that appeared on the Internet showing white students wearing blackface, sporting Ku Klux Klan regalia, and carrying nooses. His work mobilized the national media and resulted in the creation of the Center for Diversity and Race Relations near the heart of the Auburn campus in 2002.
Today, Wilson advises college and university presidents across the country on ways to create campus communities that promote inclusion. His other accomplishments include prompting the building of student resource centers at the University of Alabama and Idaho State University, prompting a $1.5 million financial aid initiative at California Institute of the Arts, and encouraging the NCAA to enact a ban on the use of Native American mascots by member institutions.
