Stop the Hate honors diversity

By Umaymah Rashid
The Collegian

A tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, on what would have been his 137th birthday, kicked off Stop the Hate week at Fresno State Sunday.

Stop the Hate week will take place from October 1-7 and is intended to promote diversity, tolerance and dialogue while building a culture of peace.

“We want to create an atmosphere, particularly on campus where everyone feels welcome,” said Sudarshan Kapoor, a retired Fresno State professor and founder of Stop the Hate week. “We want to provide a very safe, comfortable environment on the campus where people can interact with each other without being assaulted, harassed or criticized for their views.”

The opening ceremony included guest speakers University President John Welty and Associated Students President J.P. Moncayo. Welty and Moncayo both spoke at the Peace Garden and encouraged the ideas of dialogue and discussion to foster peace and understanding between different cultures.

“Stop the Hate week really is about learning that diversity and differences of opinions about race and ethnicities are actual values and not something we should be uncomfortable with,” Moncayo said.

Fresno State criminology senior Ricardo Gonzalez appreciates the ideas Stop the Hate week promotes.

“What I really like about it is that he [Kapoor] said we are all human beings no matter what race or nationality, we are all brothers of the same race,” Gonzalez said.

The ceremony paid homage to Gandhi and his message of peace and respect with traditional Indian songs and dances. It also included a photographic exhibit of the life of Gandhi as well as meditation and the garlanding of the Gandhi statue in the Peace Garden.

The weeklong event will also include panels that will discuss the prison industrial complex, religion and peace, immigration, war and peacemaking, anti Semitism, homelessness and violence against women.

Kapoor said the main goal of the event is to stop the violence and help to create a culture of peace by encouraging students to be pro-active in exploring diversity, stopping the violence and promoting peace.

“Students are always our future leaders, I consider them our best messengers of peace, non-violence, and harmony,” He said. “They can certainly reflect that in their own lifestyle, they can spread the message to their friends and neighbors and play a very constructive and major role in getting the message out.”

Moncayo also believes students have an important role in promoting diversity as well as peace between different races and cultures.

“It is really important that students come out of their shells in a sense and learn about cultures that are not cultures they practice and they start seeing differences of opinion as cool,” Moncayo said. “If students start seeing the diversity on our campus as a gift to our education, that’s huge.”

“We do know that there are many negative forces, but we have to work very hard to overcome those forces,” Kapoor said. “I don’t think its going to happen overnight but we still have to continue doing whatever we can, even if it makes just a little difference.”

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