Civility Day
On a sunny, late October afternoon, while "Reach Out and Touch Somebody's Hand" echoed from the steeple bells in Old Chapel, an estimat-ed 4,000 people joined hands and formed a human chain across campus. Deemed one of the largest student events in recent years, "Hands Across UMass" was the culminating event of Civility Week.
While "Hands Across UMass" was the most publicized and most attended event of Civility Week, it was only one of many campus events sponsored throughout the week. In addition, workshops and educational programs were also sponsored campus wide.
The "Hands Across UMass" festivities kicked off with a rally on the Student Union steps, where students and campus leaders united against racism. Many participants spoke out against the campus wide and world wide effects of racism.
Sekhulumi Ntsoaole, a student from South Africa, explained to the crowd that only recently he lived in a country where racism was accepted. "Now two months later," he said, "I am proud to stand here and support this fight against racism.
After the noontime rally. Chancellor Joseph Duffey and event co-organizer Lori Edmonds led the crowd to the campus pond. Duffey and Edmonds were the first to join hands. Immediately the human chain sprouted in two directions and began its long, unbroken stretch across campus.
For the next 40 minutes, the chain grew, stretching and wrapping its way around the campus, before ending up in Southwest and Sylvan residential areas.
With the exception of a few children from Mark's Meadow Elementary School, who picked up the slack near Sylvan, most of the participants were students, professors, faculty and staff. Many professors cancelled their afternoon classes, while many students willingly skipped afternoon classes to participate in the event.
Jason Rabinowitz, co-organizer of "Hands Across UMass" called the event a huge success.
"It showed that racism is absolutely unacceptable and not tolerated," he said.