By Oscar Romero
For the Daily Titan

Students and members of the campus community gathered at the Titan Commons Nov. 19 to raise their voice against racism in today’s society.

The Association for Inter-Cultural Awareness hosted the Rally Against Hate, an annual event bringing forth the issue of discrimination to the campus.

The rally emphasized racial, gender, lifestyle, disabled and religious discrimination.

AICA is an organization composed of the various cultural clubs on campus in a joint effort to educate everyone about the diverse cultures.
Their goal is to eliminate any barriers, stigmas and misconceptions that are repeatedly connected to different ethnicities and lifestyles.

“Rally Against Hate is an event we started a few years ago here on campus because we really realized how much progress we need in addressing hate crimes,” said Mark Hizon, 19, administrative chair for AICA.

At the center of the event was a stage where students and speakers shared personal testimonies of prejudice while offering advice on standing up against racism. The event also had various activities students could partake in. Listeners clapped to encourage the speakers.

Participants were also enlightened on the array of services and resources available to students on the university’s ground.

The event was comprised of various sections elaborating on different aspects of hate and was arranged to some extent in order.

At the entrance of the event was the Wall of Progress, a place celebrating the advancements made in bringing an end to racism since the Civil Rights Era.

However, students were quickly reminded of the pervasive hatred as shirts hanging from clotheslines with insulting messages surrounded their field of vision. The shirts were an AICA rendition of the Clothesline Project, a demonstration used to address violence against women in the 1990s. The AICA version of the project dealt with the issue of racism.

Some shirts contained personal and provocative accounts of racism written by students anonymously while others included stereotypes that have been embedded into society.

“Some of the shirts can be brutal in the things that it says, but the whole idea is to show that prejudice still exists,” said Zohra Latif, 19, public relations coordinator for AICA, who encouraged students to decorate shirts.

According to Latif, some students complained about the content on the shirts but were reminded that they were there to strike a chord.
Following the clothesline was the Wall of Prejudice. The wall was composed of two large red sheets of paper plastered with stereotypical labels that are often associated with different ethnicities. Partakers wrote various messages expressing their emotions while preserving their identity.At the end of the event, members of AICA tore down the wall of prejudice.

When asked about why AICA was tearing down the wall, Hizon said, “This is something that we want to end, so that is the symbolization.”

Despite all the negativity, the Wall of Hope provided a glimmer of chance. This wall provided students an opportunity to make a pledge in order to end discrimination. Students wrote their promises on small colored hearts and taped them to the wall. Students were awarded with a rose to commemorate their promise.

“In a small way, they make an effort to end prejudice and hate,” said Clyde Bessey, 20, a volunteer running the Wall of Hope.

Tents were set up in the center by different organizations. One of the tables promoted sexual assault prevention and handed out papers describing ways in which men can stop sexual assault against women. CAIR California, an organization dedicated to helping Islamic relations, handed out pamphlets and displayed facts as well.

The Women’s Center, Multi-cultural Leadership, Volunteer Services Center and Chicano Resource Center all offered information about the clubs and events designed to facilitate students.

Counseling and Psychological Services also displayed information regarding the individual, group and relationship counseling as well as psychiatric services that are available to students on campus.