Hate is Wrong is currently expanding its educational goals. In addition to supporting Esera Tuaolo’s inclusion-based speaking, in 2018, it hopes to administer an anti-bullying family luau in school districts across the country, beginning in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The anti-bullying family luau is a unique effort to combat bullying from elementary to high school. The idea arose when Esera sought to combine his culinary skills with his inclusion-based speaking to create a one-of-a-kind event. The luau is a night during which families within the school district can come together in fellowship at the high school cafeteria, enjoy a free dinner, and learn how to recognize and end bullying.
This is a general break-down of the night:
- Fellowship Hour. The first hour of the night allows families within the district to network and get to know each other. This will include both the students and their families. Many current anti-bullying campaigns do not include this component. But it is crucial because it humanizes the problem and reveals that the responsibility to stop bullying rests on everyone in the community. The more families become connected, the less likely the students will bully one another and the more likely parents will be engaged in spotting and preventing bullying.
- Free Dinner. Many parents have difficulties participating in school events, including anti-bullying campaigns, because every-day tasks get in the way, such as having to prepare dinner, supervise children, etc. The luau will provide families with a free dinner during the fellowship hour, catered by Chef Tuaolo or other celebrity chefs. The free dinner, in conjunction with the whole event, eliminates some of the barriers that keep parents away. Indeed, parents may use the luau as a substitute for having to plan some other family event, allowing them to relax, eat, have fun, and in the process fully engage the night’s anti-bullying goals.
- Anti-bullying Video. After dinner, there will be a short, twenty-minute educational video. Attendees will learn current statistics of bullying, the common consequences of bullying, individualized stories, and methods of spotting and preventing bullying. The video is currently under construction.
- Guest Speaker. Following the video will be a speech delivered by a celebrity, lasting, at most, twenty minutes. The speech will complement the video, although its exact contents will be determined by the celebrity. The speech is expected to contain the celebrity’s personal stories of bullying, and the celebrity’s presence will drive up attendance.
- Workshops. Hate is Wrong will also administer follow-up workshops within the district three times per year. The workshops will consist of updated educational materials and engagement with students.
People tend to be receptive of ideas when they voluntarily adopt them. The goal of the night, then, is not to put people down or force people to change in any particular way. The goal instead is to bring people closer together and to plant an anti-bullying seed in their minds that will, we hope, remind them of what they learned and experienced during the luau when a bullying situation arises. This seed will also lead families to follow-up on bullying on their own time, such as having an open conversation with their children. As people leave the luau, they will receive anti-bullying materials that may help them continue the luau and its goals at home.