No Place For Hate is a campaign that is coupled with the Anti-Defamation League working to assist schools in setting a standard of respect for diversity and anti-bias efforts that will mobilize the school community to take action. DHS implemented the pledge in 2012, making it over a decade old in our school. And for over a decade DHS has been working to make every inch of the school, “No Place for Hate” by encouraging teachers to sign the pledge. Last Wednesday, the 25 of October, 2023, students had the opportunity to sign the pledge for the first time.
Jill Carithers, the business and DECA teacher at DHS signed the No Place for Hate pledge alongside her advisory class. As a faculty member, she also encouraged students to sign the pledge when they were presented with the opportunity, “It actually will give students a voice, it allows them to know…there are others in their community who acknowledge that hate speech is happening and it allows them to understand that there are others out there who also understand that and want to make a change.”
Students play a large role, if not the largest role, in the school community and their voice matters. If a student or a group of students feel unsafe in their school or a particular classroom, they deserve to eliminate that feeling and create a safe space. No Place For Hate allows that to happen because when students all come together supporting this cause, it amplifies their voices so they can advocate for themselves.
No Place for Hate was first implemented in 2012, but soon fell out of favor when the teacher who started it no longer worked at DHS. However, about three years ago in 2020, the school wanted to reinstate the pledge and asked Sarah Sanchez Armstrong to take on that task. She happily obliged and is now the coordinator for No Place For Hate, instituting it all around our school. To once again implement this pledge through the whole school is a big thing to take on, but Sanchez states that, “We want all students to be valued and feel respected, and one way we do that is by creating a culture of care in our community and…not standing for things that are hateful and hurtful to other students.”
The main goal of No Place for Hate is to make sure that students feel safe and respected when they attend school. Encouraging not only staff but also students to do this is crucial. People need to not just wear the bracelets and sign a piece of paper but also speak up against hate whenever you see it. Make your presence one that your peers feel safe in and encourage others to do the same. No Place For Hate is so much more than a pledge, it is a promise that all students, no matter who they are, will feel safe and respected no matter where they are. And the only way to truly uphold that promise is to make sure everyone is doing their part. Change starts with you.
