01
April
2018
|
05:46 AM
America/Chicago

UHD Selected to Participate in ADL Collegiate Challenge

The University of Houston-Downtown (UHD) is one of a select group of schools throughout the country invited to participate in the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Collegiate Innovate Against Hate Challenge. Each participating university will be competing for the chance to present their campaign to industry leaders from ADL at conclusion of the spring semester.

As part of the ADL Collegiate Innovate Against Hate Challenge, UHD students have a rare opportunity to put their education to work in the real world for a national organization. These students in the University's Integrated Marketing Communications class created an in-class working marketing agency, Gators4Equality. The class agency is tasked with researching, implementing and evaluating an integrated marketing campaign aimed at educating publics on all forms of hate and extremism while promoting justice, equity, and inclusion. After the students have analyzed their research findings, they will create and implement their own local social media campaign, inspire positive action in the community, and explore creative solutions to combat hate with the use of technology, both new and existing. Students will receive a $1,500 budget to help them bring their plans to life. At the end of the semester, students will measure their success through follow-up research and give a formal report to the client summarizing their campaign and results.

"This is a project that allows us to put our knowledge into a real-world experience," said Jacoby Fleming, student project leader.

The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913 to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Today, it's the world's leading organization combating anti-Semitism; exposing hate groups; training law enforcement on hate crimes; developing anti-bias education programs for students;countering cyber-hate and relentlessly pursuing equal rights for all. ADL fights all forms of hate, trying to build a better world inspired by our democratic sense of unity.