It was a great year for #USvsHate, CREATE’s anti-hate messaging project. By amplifying “anti-hate” youth voices in schools and publicly, we seek to empower students to build schools and a society where all belong, feel included, and get supported.
This year in #USvsHate, we enjoyed submissions from student and teacher participants from across the country. Combined, over 1000 students participated in lessons and messaging in our classic contests/#LetUsLearn Special Call, and voted on messages by their peers!
We appreciated commentary on #USvsHate participation on our voting form. Students from the San Diego area shared, for example, that “I’ve seen kids being nicer to each other”; “I have seen many positive changes in my community”; “positive, kind words being spread”; “I have personally felt more included and inspired by the artwork from the USvsHate that I’ve seen”; and “I’ve seen positive changes because of less bullying.”
We were also moved by student voices from Florida, who said, “There is more discussion”; “good changes with people being better”; “Positive, it was fun to work with my partner and create a project that spread awareness on an important topic”; and “We all came together.” A teacher in Encinitas, CA, shared that “having these conversations helps students become more aware of themselves and that words and actions have consequences. I have the posters in my room and they are powerful.”
We’ve sent packages of this year’s student-made posters and stickers to participating schools to shape school climate! See all winners on our website, and stay tuned throughout the summer on Instagram as we amplify winning messages one by one.
We particularly love #USvsHate “backstories” made by youth describing the intentions behind their public messages. Two young people impressed us particularly this year: see their stories below!
In 2024–2025, the San Diego Area Writing Project in CREATE will be leading #USvsHate’s next growth, engaging teachers regionally and across the country through the National Writing Project. We are excited to have SDAWP in the lead to deepen teacher participation, with a fall launch inviting community-builder lessons and messaging.
Deadlines next year will be November 22, 2024 and March 28, 2025. Plan to join us!
Watch your email this fall for a next newsletter straight from the San Diego Area Writing Project!
Here’s a sample of some of our student submissions and backstories! For the complete list of our 2024 winners and finalists, please visit us at usvshate.org.
UC San Diego CREATE Blog 