STOP: Students Together Opposing Prejudice

Tonight's iftar at ICB Wayland was a beautiful conclusion to our S.T.O.P. 2026 season. Graduating seniors, and all our wonderful students, we're so proud of you for the thoughtful, robust, kind work you've done learning with each other and from our hosts all semester. Congratulations!

Our 4th session of 2026 STOP was hosted by First Parish of Sudbury. Here we are learning about the history of this church and current practices. Later we all got to ring the church bell before we spent the rest of the night learning tools for responding to discrimination and prejudice

Last night we held session 3 of the 2026 season and were hosted by St. John's Lutheran church Sudbury. Here's our groups exploring Lies and Truths in media. It was hard!

First meeting at the Center for Interfaith Collaboration! We created "quilt squares" with elements of our identities, to share and created our community covenant for the season. Thanks to The Center for Interfaith Collaboration for hosting us and teaching about the varied ways you use this great space.

Your STOP leaders (Cantor Vera Broekhuysen, Maryam Libdi & Rev. Gail Wright) had an awesome planning session yesterday afternoon and can't wait for you to get to know each other and us through games, crafts and discussion at our first session *next Thursday* January 8th! Registration for STOP 2026 is open through January 6th - sign your 6th-12th grader up today!

https://stoptheprejudice.net/register-sudbury/

Registration deadline change!! Now the deadline to register your middle or high school student is Tuesday, January 6th!

The S.T.O.P. program is interfaith and multicultural, raising participants’ awareness around causes of prejudice and its effects. We teach strategies that help to prevent and respond to prejudice, bullying, and inequity in our relationships and our world.

Use this link to our website for more information and to register: www.stoptheprejudice.net

We're all fired up for a new season of S.T.O.P. 2026, which will include expanded and deepened interfaith learning and sharing, new games & activities, and an opportunity to attend an iftar meal. Our adult leadership team has also expanded: we are now a Muslim social worker, a retired UCC minister, and a Jewish cantor!

S.T.O.P. is open to 6th-12th graders and runs for seven Thursdays, January 8th through March 5th. Don't sleep on S.T.O.P. - sign up today! Registration closes on January 2nd! https://forms.gle/USyaVm5JQhzQNNju7

You can learn more about S.T.O.P. at http://stoptheprejudice.net.

Our last session for the 2025 Season was held on Thursday - each group presented their skit for how to use Response Tools to defeat prejudice. We also celebrated our seniors - two young men who have been involved since 6th grade! We are looking for suggestions about how to reach out to parents and kids in 5th grade to let them know about this program. At a time when DEI programs are at risk, STOP is more necessary than ever - and we get no government funding!

Keep an eye out this summer for news about S.T.O.P. 2026, mark your calendars for the fall to register, and check out our website (stoptheprejudice.net) for more details and updates!

Kudos to all of our wonderful facilitators, participants - including those who couldn't join us for the last night! - and host communities Congregation Beth El of the Sudbury River Valley, Memorial Congregational Church (UCC) Sudbury, MA, St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church of Sudbury, Islamic Center of Boston (ICB Wayland), and First Parish UCC of Sudbury. We learned a lot and we had a lot of fun doing it. Prejudice is very, very real, and we all can work to interrupt it, disrupt it, educate and support one another.

Tonight was too snowy to meet - we hope everyone stayed warm and safe! - but we had a wonderful session last Thursday at the Islamic Center of Boston (ICB Wayland). Thank you to Sunday School principal Rehna Khan for welcoming us so warmly with a fantastic tour and teaching session about Islam! We spent the second half of the evening identifying, and then brainstorming the best use of, different interpersonal tools for interrupting prejudice. The scenarios were lively and we're ready to craft our final projects!

Here's what we learned about last week: Tools for Responding

Notice - the situation, the person affected and their reactions, and name the issue to yourself.
Friend – show you are an ally: catch the Target’s attention, move closer, send a private message, etc.
Distract – interrupt the situation: change the subject with words or actions.
Confront – directly call out/speak out that the words or actions are unacceptable, usually to shut down or shame.
Call In – invite a conversation or reflection: ask questions to explore, reflect, gain understanding, learn.
Delegate – bring the issue to an authority, ask for help immediately or later.
Follow up – reach out afterwards to the Target to express support or ask what else they need.
Collaborate – gather a group of peers to work with.

Send a message to learn more

Faith talk in the sanctuary at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Sudbury - thank you to the Warden for giving us all the local and denominational history! We spent the rest of the evening interrogating where and how we learn our prejudices, and practicing how to become more savvy and self-aware as consumers of news (from the media, social media, family and friends, and other sources).