UNL will launch a campaign on Monday, Nov. 25, to reject intolerance while promoting a campus-wide culture of respect.
The campaign – “Not Here, Not Now, Not Ever!” – will officially kick off at 7 p.m. at the Centennial Ballroom of the Nebraska Union with comments from Chancellor Harvey Perlman, ASUN president Eric Reznicek and other campus leaders.
The event is free and open to all UNL students, faculty and staff.
The aim of the campaign, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Juan Franco said, is to unite the campus community in awareness to issues of diversity and to solidify UNL’s strong culture of tolerance and respect. Over the next several months, campaign organizers will bring together special events, forums and other activities.
In the past week, UNL has experienced a pair of racially insensitive incidents. The first occurred during a Nov. 13 student government meeting, when a member of the student government made repeated racial slurs as part of a debate on a resolution on how to treat offensive speech during its proceedings. And this week, a racial epithet was written in large chalked letters on a campus sidewalk.
On Nov. 21, Chancellor Perlman sent a campus-wide message reaffirming the university’s commitment to promoting a campus environment that rejects intolerance and respects diversity of all kinds.
“I urge us not to remain silent or indifferent, but to confront and speak out against such outrages and embrace those against whom they are directed,” the chancellor wrote. “I know we are not the only place where these actions have occurred. But I ask all of you to rise up and say, ‘Not here, not now.’”
Franco said student leaders embraced Perlman’s call, and added “Not Ever!” to the title of the campaign. An organizational meeting this week left students feeling energized and optimistic, Franco said.
“We certainly are not going to be portraying things as worse than they are,” he said. “Our hope is that this campaign will highlight and strengthen an already strong campus culture.”
