Upstander Spotlight: NFL player writes beautiful essay about acceptance
In this essay for the New York Times, NFL linebacker Scott Fujita argues for marriage equality. Fujita’s grandfather was born in a Japanese-American internment camp during World War II and his grandparents were once denied the right to marry because of their different races. As a result of the inequality generations before him have experienced, he feels strongly about overturning California’s Proposition 8 and even signed a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of marriage equality. He hopes that one day true equality will be achieved, saying, “I don’t ever want to explain to my daughters that some ‘versions’ of love are viewed as ‘less than’ others. I’m not prepared to answer that kind of question.”
New Not On Our Campus campaign at the University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico is taking action after a racial slur was written on the door of an African-American student’s dormitory. The student was shocked by the incident, saying “I couldn’t understand why anyone would commit such a heinous act, especially on a college campus.” Jozi De Leon, the vice president for the Division of Equity and Inclusion, took action quickly, saying, “The University of New Mexico does not tolerate any act that is hateful or biased and targets members of our diverse community.” Part of their action plan includes implementing a new Not On Our Campus and Not In Our Town campaign, starting in Summer 2013. Their efforts will include training sessions to help administrators, students, faculty, and staff respond to hate incidents on campus.
The nonprofit organization Planting Peace purchased a house across the street from the Westboro hate group in Topeka, KS. On March 19, a group of volunteers painted the house to match the gay pride flag. Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace, says, "Beyond the symbolic message of the home, [the house] will be utilized by volunteers to live here, and these volunteers will work on promoting equality anywhere in the world and managing these anti-bullying initiatives that we plan on creating." They hope the Equality House brings them one step closer towards acceptance of the gay community.
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