Stephen
L. Wessler, the former Assistant Attorney General for the state
of Maine and now the director of the Center for the Prevention
of Hate Violence at the University of Southern Maine, will
provide the keynote address at the upcoming Stop Hate in the
Hallways 2: Strategies for Preventing School Violence. The
one-day conference presented by the Cimarron Alliance Foundation
is set for Thursday, Nov. 13, at the National Center for
Employee Development, 2801 E. State Hwy. 9, Norman. The
conference will address hands-on strategies for preventing
school violence.
Wessler will provide keynote remarks during the conference. His
center develops and implements programs in schools, colleges and
communities to prevent bias, prejudice, harassment and violence
and promotes writing and teaching on issues relating to
bias-motivated violence. He has conducted scores of trainings on
preventing hate violence to educators, students, police officers
and community members. In 1998, Wessler participated in the U.S.
Department of Justice's Working Group, which developed and
piloted the National Hate Crimes Training Curriculum.
Beth Reis, a health educator from Seattle, Wash., and co-founder
of the Safe Schools Coalition, also will conduct two workshops
that will center on helping campuses become safe places where
every educator can teach and every child can learn regardless of
gender identity or sexual orientation. State Attorney General
Drew Edmonson is slated to provide opening comments for the
conference, which will also feature a panel of high school
students who will discuss real-life examples of harassment in
their own schools.
The first Stop Hate in the Hallways was held in October 2007 and
drew more than 350 attendees from more than 20 Oklahoma
communities.
Cimarron was supported by 53 partner organizations, including
national, state and local nonprofit organizations and three
government agencies to develop and promote the conference. Kevin
Jennings, founder and chief executive officer for GLSEN, was the
featured keynote speaker.
What is it?
Stop Hate In The Hallways
is a one-day conference to address bullying based on race, religion,
and sexual orientation and gender identity. Training will be
provided for the intervention and prevention of bullying and
harassment in a variety of break-out sessions.
Sponsors
BancFirst,
David Rainbolt
Kirkpatrick Family Fund
Five
continuing-educational units (CEUs), three of
them for Ethics, are available for licensed
mental health professionals. Training
certificates will be given to educators to apply
for educational credits with their districts.
CEU’s are
approved through NorthCare.
Drew
Edmondson, Oklahoma's Attorney General and a
Community Partner for the Stop Hate in the
Hallways 2 conference, will open the event and
welcome attendees.
Who needs to
attend?
Violence Prevention Professionals
School Administrators
Classroom Educators
Mental Health Professionals
Law Enforcement Officers
School Psychologists
School Superintendents
National, State & Local Policy Makers
School Police Officers
Social Workers
Attorneys
School Board Members
Why does this
matter?
65% of
teens nationwide report that they have been harassed or
assaulted because of perceived or actual appearance, gender,
sexual orientation, gender expression, race/ethnicity,
disability, or religion.
About 1 out of 2
teens frequently or sometimes hear racist remarks (48%).
More than one-third
of Latino students hear racist remarks (35%).
About 1 out of 4 teens often or sometimes hear negative
religious remarks (26%).
3 out of 4 students
hear homophobic remarks often or sometimes (75%).
28%
of teens are harassed often or very often because of their race.
8%
of teens are harassed often or very often because of their
religion.
1 in 3
teens report that students are harassed often or very often
because they are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay, or
bisexual.
LGBT students are
more than 3 times
as likely as non-LGBT students to say that they do not feel safe
at school.
Half of students have had
rumors or lies spread about them at school.
38%
of students had their property stolen or deliberately damaged.
68%
of Latino students have been harassed or assaulted in high
school.
90%
of LGBT students have been harassed or assaulted in high school.
71%
of teachers believe that anti-harassment and anti-discrimination
policies would be helpful in securing a safe learning
environment for LGBT students.
Only
48% of
students say their school has an anti-harassment policy that
specifies sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender
expression.
59%
of Latino students who have experienced harassment never report
such incidents.
67%
of LGBT students who have experienced harassment never report
such incidents.
Stephen
L. Wessler, the former Assistant Attorney General for the state
of Maine and now the director of the Center for the Prevention
of Hate Violence at the University of Southern Maine, will
provide the keynote address at the upcoming Stop Hate in the
Hallways 2: Strategies for Preventing School Violence. The
one-day conference presented by the Cimarron Alliance Foundation
is set for Thursday, Nov. 13, at the National Center for
Employee Development, 2801 E. State Hwy. 9, Norman. The
conference will address hands-on strategies for preventing
school violence. 
Beth Reis, a health educator from Seattle, Wash., and co-founder
of the Safe Schools Coalition, also will conduct two workshops
that will center on helping campuses become safe places where
every educator can teach and every child can learn regardless of
gender identity or sexual orientation. State Attorney General
Drew Edmonson is slated to provide opening comments for the
conference, which will also feature a panel of high school
students who will discuss real-life examples of harassment in
their own schools.
Violence Prevention Professionals
