HHS students host ‘Anti Bias Week’

    The Houlton High Civil Rights Team hosted an “Anti-Bias Week,” culminating with a guest speaker Dec. 14. The purpose of the weeklong event was to give students an understanding of bias and bias-based behavior and look at the school’s harassment policy and how it protects students from bias-based behavior. 
    Students learned the definition of bias, which is prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. They also learned that bias can be damaging, but bias based on race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, physical and mental disabilities, gender, and sexual orientation is especially damaging. Students learned about the state laws and school policies that protect people from bias-motivated behaviors.
Contributed photo
CIVIL RIGHTS TEAM — Team members include front row from left, Sarah Sirois, Emilie Newman, Felicia Prosser, Stephanie Taylor, Maggie Lafond, Jackie Green, Mariah O’Neal, Erin Keehn and Victoria Codrey; middle, Kate Newman, Lexi Bartlett, Jill Moran, Morgan Nelson, Lauren Hogan and Autumn London; and back, advisor Shelly Beals, James Trecartin, Brandon Baldwin, Connor Cleary, Chase Brewer, Keegan Fitzpatrick and Laura Beals.
    Brandon Baldwin’s presentation, “Understanding Bias” aimed to help students identify bias behaviors in their school environment and understand the unique and damaging nature of these behaviors.
    During the Anti-Bias week, the Houlton High Civil Rights Team did activities with the school to promote awareness. One activity they did was to hand out sugar-free multi-colored gumballs, to demonstrate that each person is different on the outside, but each gum ball was the exact same on the inside. Another activity they did was to have the students wear mismatched shoes.
Brandon Baldwin speaks to the students.
    The mismatched shoes represent how each person is different and that everyone holds different values and should not be judged because of them. They learned they should not judge a person until they have walked in his or her shoes. There was also an Anti-Bias Pledge Banner that the students were able to sign during the week. The Civil Rights Team was able to purchase t-shirts for the team, the Student Council, and teachers. Throughout the week, bookmarks and pencils were passed out to the students. The Civil Rights Team also created a video about Anti-Bias behavior.
    Baldwin works in the state Attorney General’s Office. He is the Schools and Curriculum Coordinator for the Civil Rights Team Project. Baldwin travels around the state working with student civil rights teams, helping them create safe and welcoming schools for everyone. Before this, he taught and coached in Maine schools for almost 10 years.