The growing hatred for diversity in the United States is unacceptable, and as a Civil Rights Team, we strongly resent it. Safety should be a right; you are equally as important as your neighbor.

Too often we hear of these hate-fueled attacks — most recently the synagogue shooting in Poway, California — and we beg you to not become numb. Do not let this become the new normal.

Our Civil Rights Team has sent out many letters in support of different communities, too many for one school year. As a team we have written to a family-run halal butchery after their business was targeted with gunshots. We sent several letters out after the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting, and we also recently reached out to Maine’s Muslim community after the New Zealand shooting. We’ve had enough.

Brandon Baldwin, Maine’s Civil Rights Team Project director, says, “We cannot look away from the horrors of hate,” and our team cannot agree more. So please, do not look away — stand strong for the people who are constantly battered. Open your eyes and your heart, and help us make the world a more peaceful place.

Jaime Frye
Summer Dudley
Brooke McLaughlin
Gardiner Area High School Civil Rights Team