1/22/04

Trish O'Kane, 334/844-2853

SPLC SPEAKER TO LEAD AU WORKSHOP ON ANTI-HATE CRIME

AUBURN -- Brandon Wilson of Tolerance.org, a project of the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center, will lead a workshop at Auburn University on Tuesday (Jan. 27) on how to fight hate crime.

The two-hour workshop will begin at 2 p.m., at the AU Hotel and Dixon Conference Center, Room I.

It will be based on the Tolerance.org's guidebook: 10 Ways to Fight Hate on Campus: A Response Guide for College Activists.

"Every minute a college student somewhere is exposed to bigotry," says Wilson, an AU graduate. "Students must take charge to end hate on campus and we hope this seminar gives them the necessary tools to combat prejudice at Auburn."

Wilson says each year, some 500,000 college students are victims of bigoted slurs and bias-driven assaults, and at least one hate crime occurs daily on a U.S. college campus.

The Tolerance.org workshop is sponsored by the AU Office of Student Affairs, the President's Diversity Leadership Council, the Center for Diversity and Race Relations, Human Resources, the Office of Affirmative Action-EEO, the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, and the Department of Communication and Journalism.

For a free copy of 10 Ways to Fight Hate on Campus: A Response Guide for College Activists, click here.

jan04:AU-tolerance

CONTACT: Wilson, 334/956-8354 or Trish OšKane, 334/844-2853.