Greeks gather for “˜Hate Free’ evening

By Sabrina Singhapattanapong
Daily Bruin Contributor

About 1,700 sorority and fraternity members gathered Wednesday
to view the documentary “Journey to a Hate Free
Millennium.” Many left in tears.

The event was part of the annual Greek Education Program
sponsored by the Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Council,
National Pan-Hellenic Council and Asian Greek Council. Each house
was responsible for producing an 80 percent turnout to avoid
fines.

Matthew Friedrich, vice president of Zeta Beta Theta fraternity,
said that attending educational events should be considered a
priority and that “we’re not just about getting drunk
and partying.”

The documentary was produced by Brent Scarpo, founder of New
Light Media Productions, to educate students about how they can
combat hate through tolerance.

“Hate begins with a single word. Be aware of your
language,” Scarpo said. “We have to end the hate and
treat each other with the utmost respect.”

The film featured news footage of the Columbine High School
shootings and interviews with family members of hate crime victims,
including Matthew Shepard, a gay college student beaten and left to
die on a fence in Wyoming, and James Byrd Jr., a disabled black man
chained to a truck and dragged to death in Texas.

Alpha Phi member Diana Gil said that students tend to lose sight
of what is going on in the world and how they have the power to do
more positive things.

To show how anyone can be a victim of hate crimes, Scarpo asked
students to sit down upon hearing hate crime statistics pertaining
to their race, religion or gender.

Black students were the first to sit, followed by Latino
students, Asian students, American Indian and Arab students. The
bulk of students who remained standing sat down as Scarpo cited a
hate crime statistic about women.

According to the American Psychological Association, “more
than half of all women murdered in the first half of 1980 were
killed by their partners. If you are a woman, sit down,”
Scarpo said.

In the end, all but a group of white male students were
seated.

Scarpo then asked those saddened by Sept.11 to sit down ““
no one was left standing.

With 1 million frequent flier miles under his belt, Scarpo has
visited over 160 college campuses and hundreds of high schools and
middle schools across America over the past three years.

In his concluding address, Scarpo spoke of the silver thimble he
received as a graduation gift from his mother. His mother asked him
to fill it to the top with love, care and respect.

At the end of the night, students left with a silver thimble in
hand.

“We will no longer allow people to walk around with empty
thimbles,” he said, asking students to fill their thimbles
with love and compassion just as his mother had asked him to
do.