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“No more sweeping stuff under the rug.”
Taylor Necetera, a senior at Hadley-Luzerne High School, was one of 250 middle and high school students who attended Siena’s annual anti-bias STOP (Students Together Opposing Prejudice) conference on Jan. 13. She spoke about her personal experience with prejudice and misunderstanding as she has come to terms with her sexual orientation.
“We have to be willing to face these issues and talk about them,” she told the group, to a round of enthusiastic and supportive applause.
STOP is sponsored by Siena’s Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King Lecture Series and is organized and run by the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) A World of Difference Institute, and supported by the Golub Family Foundation. Students from 30 middle schools and high schools from around the Capital Region met in small groups for discussions and action planning with adult leaders around issues of prejudice, tolerance, and respect. They learned ways they can become more involved and help extinguish intolerance, bullying, and discrimination.
“I think this is an awesome conference,” Necetera said. “We’re learning how to lead, we’re learning how to fight against bias on our own, with our peers. It’s about taking what we learn here back to our schools, to teach about respect for everyone.”
The 13th annual conference also featured an evening exhibit of art and writing from area students in grades K-12. The art and writing theme was “The Destruction of the Earth’s Environment is the Human Rights Challenge of Our Time,” a quote from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The STOP conference has also served as an inspiration for students to choose Siena for their college studies.
“I came to the conference twice when I was in high school,” said Emily Heald '17. “It really made me fall in love with Siena. I saw the College as a supportive environment, where students engage directly with faculty and the college engages with the wider community. I thought it was a beautiful thing, and it fed my passion to make change in the world.”
The discussion of these topics will continue with this year’s King Lecture Series event on Tuesday, March 28. Environmental justice scholar and author Dr. Robert Bullard will present “Environmental Justice and the Politics of Place: Why Equity Matters” at 7PM in the Sarazen Student Union. Admission is free.
