Do We bELONg?

A Social Action ProjectBy Sarah Morrison and John

Johnson

What’s the message behind “Do We bELONg?”

To promote a mindset tolerant of the innate differences in people. Whether these differences are derived from race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or religion, we hope to bring the global issue of intolerance to light. Instead of focusing on a sole facet (i.e. race, ethnicity, etc.), we hope to encompass all facets by fueling a respectful environment as a whole. Through this, we hope to reduce—if not eliminate—intolerance by discouraging associated behaviors. To reach this goal, we decided to target the Elon community. The posters strategically placed throughout the campus hold powerful words of wisdom, tips on dealing with discrimination issues, and methods for action (i.e. changing one’s views on tolerance or actively discouraging intolerance and discrimination between others).

Reason behind “Do we bELONg?”

O Intolerance is one of the most pressing global issues.O Endless factors breed intolerance—cultural differences, ignorance,

and everything in between. Informing the public about the benefits of tolerance will lead them to rethink their motives and/or actions.

O Our plan is specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, and timelyO On a daily basis, intolerance often goes unspoken

Here at Elon…O Intolerance issues are usually handled in an overly aggressive way O Community response is only prominent when major

intolerance/discrimination incidents ariseO We wanted to find a way to continuously reinforce messages on the

importance of toleranceO We wanted to find a way to be active on campus

Tolerance at Elon

Yes No0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%Do you think Elon needs to raise more awareness about in-tolerance?

Out of 50 random student/staff respondents(provided by www.surveymonkey.com)

Yes No0.00%

10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

100.00%

Is tolerance a value of impor-tance to you?

“not getting let into fraternity

parties”(based on one’s race and/or

gender)

“people get called demeaning names

every day” (referring to gender-related put-downs)

“I know people who have had

issues with gay-bashing on campus”

=Intolerance

Not On Our Campus Movement: A success?

Are you aware of the Not-On-Our-Campus

movement?95.5% say yes4.5% say no

(If your previous response was 'yes') Do you think the Not-On-Our-Campus movement has been suc-cessful in terms of pro-moting a more tolerant

environment? 48.8% say yes51.2% say no

Students and staff voice their opinionscall for action

“The majority of students

were apathetic to the Not-On-Our-Campus movement.”

“Haven’t really heard or seen any changes besides the sticker…”

“[The racial component] is a subject that has been beaten to

death.”

“It was fast and fleeting; a lot of people just stop

putting forth effort, or didn’t put forth any at

all.”

Getting the message of

“Do We bELONg?”

across

We asked, is bELONg going strong?

“I saw a couple signs around

the mail center. I like how it

sends a reinforcing message. If more people caught on, it

could probably expand past the

local level”- Brett Filloon

“Many of us fail to recognize the range of tolerance… it not just about race. Messages

like this bring that point to light. It’s a catchy

slogan too.”- Aarti Rishi

“Universal tolerance isn’t going to happen overnight. I

think we’re moving in the right direction though. I have

seen more and more intermingling between

‘diverse’ groups.”- Fabio Recine

“Open-mindedness is definitely growing. Most of

my friends here have friends from different cultures,

ethnicities, religion etc. We all hang out almost every

weekend.” – Britt Lue

Social entrepreneurship

O Social entrepreneurs have to think critically about the issue at hand. They must recognize if their small, yet ardent efforts can accumulate to significantly treat an issue. It takes a lot of planning, outside research, time, and drive to be a social entrepreneur. One has to recognize that he/she is working with a purpose greater than one’s self.

O We would do this project again only if the demands weren’t as time-consuming. Additionally, measuring efficiency of a social entrepreneurs’ efforts can be stalled by vagueness.