SHREWSBURY – Several Shrewsbury students are learning more about cultural diversity.
Shrewsbury is home to the latest branch of the Students Together Opposing Prejudice (S.T.O.P.) Program. After the town’s original S.T.O.P. chapter shut down several years ago due to lack of involvement, Ridha Alam – a student at UMass Amherst – was motivated to bring the program back.
“On campus, at UMass, I’m part of the South Asian Student Association… We had an event where we had panels come in, and the panelists were faculty members at UMass who were of Asian and South Asian descent. So, as I was sitting there listening to them talk, we were all discussing strategies on how we could [stop Asian hate]. While we were talking, it clicked… and it reminded me of S.T.O.P.,” Alam said.
Alam, who used to participate in Shrewsbury’s original S.T.O.P. branch in middle school, immediately reached out to the Subury-based main organization. Sheila Goldberg and Susan Murphy, two of the organization’s founders, guided Alam, helping her start the Shrewsbury branch.
“They were super on board and super supportive,” Alam said.