| Beginning the Journey Presentation at Central Michigan University |
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| NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BEGINNING THE JOURNEY DIVERSITY PRESENTATIONS OCTOBER 31, 2002 Presentation at Central Michigan University to Explore Hate Beginning the Journey Diversity Presentations will be hosting a workshop at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Wednesday, November 6, 2002. The workshop will be sponsored by CMU�s Gay/Straight Alliance. The workshop will be open to the public and free of charge. The workshop entitled �Beginning the Journey to a Hate Free Tomorrow� is an interactive, multimedia presentation that will engage participants and encourage dialogue regarding hate, discrimination, and violence. Discussion will center around contemporary events such as the murders of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. and the tragedies at Columbine High School and the World Trade Center. This workshop focuses on the individual�s power to end violence by recognizing the effects of hate and taking action to end personal biases and hate motivated behavior. Attendees will view a portion of the film �Journey to a Hate Free Millennium� and participate in activities that will help to illustrate the impact of hate and the impact of understanding and acceptance in our society. Nicholas Linindoll, a CMU student and Beginning the Journey�s founder will be presenting the workshop. �The message of tolerance is a popular topic as of late, but it�s one that people still need to hear. People are still being hurt, even here at CMU because of other people�s intolerance. I hope that this presentation will get people talking about what we can do to affect positive change.� This workshop seeks to raise awareness of the destructive powers of hatred and violence in our society and to inspire participants to set out upon a journey toward a world defined by compassion, peace, and hope. It relies on open-ended questions and interactive learning experiences designed stimulate thought and dialogue on the effects of hate and the path to solutions. The program also provides participants with the tools they may choose to employ in their own lives to affect personal changes or to initiate changes at the school or community level. Check out �Beginning the Journey to a Hate Free Tomorrow� in the Park Library Auditorium on Wednesday, November 6, 2002, at 8 PM. Beginning the Journey Diversity Presentations seeks to expose the effects of hate and cultivate an understanding and appreciation for human diversity. For more information contact: Beginning the Journey Diversity Presentations, PO Box 131, Harrison, MI 48625. Phone: 989-387-6697. Email: [email protected]. Web: http://beginningthejourney.cjb.net. |
| Original Beginning the Journey News Release Promoting the Workshop |
| The following article appeared on the front page of Central Michigan Life, the student run newspaper of Central Michigan University. The article appeared next to a large photo of Beginning the Journey Founder/ Director and CMU Student speaking with participants. Look for Beginning the Journey's own write up of the presentatin by early next week. In addition, more photographs of the presentation will be posted here soon! WORKSHOP FOCUSES ON STEREOTYPES, HATE Attendees participate in exercises which highlight discrimination By Heather Bell Life Senior Reporter November 08, 2002 (Picture: At left, Harrison junior Nicholas Linindoll and Ypsilanti freshman Kevin Button, Gay/Straight Alliance vice president, discuss issues pertaining to Linindoll�s presentation �Beginning the Journey to a Hate Free Tomorrow.� Nathan Payne - Central Michigan Life) Stereotypes, hate and intolerance were openly addressed at the �Beginning the Journey to a Hate Free Tomorrow� workshop Wednesday in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium. Workshop leader Nicholas Linindoll, Harrison junior, said he was pleased with the reception his workshop received from the more than 100 people who attended. The presentation included a video, two activities and open discussion of hate, discrimination and diversity issues. Linindoll laid guidelines for a �safe environment� at the workshop. He said it was all right to disagree, but not to blame. He suggested participants use �I statements� to express their feelings. For example, he said it is more effective to say �I felt scared because ...� rather than say �You scare me because ... .� Linindoll asked that all participants keep the names and ideas expressed at the workshop in confidence. In keeping with this, Central Michigan Life did not use the names of those who attended the event. �I don�t want something said here to become a rumor, so what happens in this room stays in this room,� he said. Volunteers held small signs on stage with the words �ignorance,� �hate,� �suffering,� �anger� and �fear.� The students holding the signs were asked to define each word. The volunteers determined how the words fit together in order of importance, and arranged themselves in that order. After some help from the audience, the words were arranged ignorance, fear, anger, hate and suffering. �If you can identify these things early on, you can break the cycle,� he said. There is a cycle that occurs with stereotypes, generalized ideas, prejudice, attitudes that result from those ideas and discrimination � the action that is the product of the attitudes, Linindoll said. The video contained interviews with Judy Shepard and friends of Matthew Shepard, a young homosexual man killed in Wyoming; three sisters of James Byrd Jr., an African-American man who was killed because he was dragged behind a truck in Texas; and parents and students from Columbine High School. Many audience members became emotional during the film, and asked that it be shown in its entirety instead of cut off after 20 minutes, as was the plan. �I�m astounded by the amount of hatred and ignorance, especially by people of religions that are supposed to accept,� one woman said. �I don�t understand how people can use �hate� and �God� in the same sentence, when God is nothing but love.� Attendees then participated in an exercise where everyone was asked to cross a line representing the �norm.� People were asked to cross the line if they had experienced an aspect people are discriminated against. Linindoll said it was important for everyone to remember the exercise. �(The exercise proves) a deep sociological concept I like to call �We�re all in the same boat�. � Everyone is affected by hate.� The workshop was sponsored by the Gay/Straight Alliance. Linindoll is the founder of Beginning the Journey, a company in the process of becoming a nonprofit organization. He has put on presentations for about two years. See the original article at:http://www.cm-life.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2002/11/08/3dcb5dee2404c |
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