Program to implement racial tolerance

A program to help reduce prejudice in our country's young people is looking for volunteers. Implemented in middle schools and high schools from North Carolina to California, "Students Talk About Race," is designed to help junior and high school students face their feelings about prejudice.

In California, STAR was piloted here at Cal State Long Beach according to STAR Coordinator, Joe McKenna.

"STAR recruits college students to go through a training program with Dr. Joseph Sauceda, director of the Multicultural Center at CSULB," McKenna said. "They then go into the schools in the Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area and talk to them [the students]".

STAR was created by People For The American Way, a 400,000-member, non-profit organization that promotes tolerance for diversity and respect for constituting rights, specifically the freedom of expression. In the fall of 1995, more than 220 college stude nts communicated with 4,000 students in 27 middle and high schools in the area.

A study done by the PFAW found that by 2050, nearly one half of the United States population will be comprised of African American, Hispanic, Asian and other racial groups.

"This program is to create tolerance in these young people about different ethnic groups," McKenna said.

In addition the study found that many young men and women stick to destructive myths about other races. However the research found that young people are at a "teachable moment" in their views about race.

"The point of STAR is to use college students as role models who are closer to the students' age," McKenna said. "We use them as peer mentors."

When asked about the effectiveness of the program, McKenna said that the volunteers have "really had glorious testimonies from the students".

At no cost, volunteers for the program will be trained in issues of diversity, prejudice reduction, conflict mediation, classroom facilitation and the STAR curriculum.

Volunteers will then be assigned to a middle school or high school near their college campus to conduct STAR sessions for one 50 minute period per week for seven to eight weeks.