Hate speech has increased significantly in recent years, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation reporting that school-based hate crimes more than doubled between 2018 and 2022. In 2024, nearly 39% of students reported bullying based on race, religion, or identity. This rise is often driven by social media exposure and the normalization of person-to-person harassment, affecting black, LGBTQ+, and Jewish students most heavily.
The same F.B.I. data shows that schools now rank as the third most common location for hate crimes. Social media plays a more significant role than many realize; according to the Anti-Defamation League, over half of children aged 13 to 17 report exposure to some form of hate speech on digital platforms within a 12-month period.
Rho Kappa Social Studies Honor Society at Ward Melville High School took notice of this problem and has decided to take action. This club focuses on recognizing students who excel in social studies while promoting civic engagement, leadership, and community service to address real-world issues. Starting in February, Rho Kappa will be visiting elementary schools in the district to discuss antisemitism and hate speech.
Highlighting why they decided to focus on visiting elementary schools to discuss these topics, club advisor Samantha Parrella said, “Rho Kappa was looking for ways to get involved in the larger school community, and we felt like this was a perfect way to do so. Unfortunately, regardless of someone’s age, there are incidents of hate speech throughout society. Rho Kappa is focused on seeing issues in society and finding ways to provide a solution. That is what we are hoping to accomplish by visiting the fifth graders.”
“We also hope that because this information will be coming from high school students, the fifth graders will recognize that using hate speech is not the ‘cool’ thing to do,” she explained.
The primary goal of Rho Kappa is to ensure students understand that hate speech should never be taken lightly. “I hope students see that by using hate speech, not only are you hurting someone else, but you are also hurting yourself. Students see a lot on social media, and it’s easy to say ‘that was just a joke.’ We want students to walk away knowing that it is a lot easier to be a kind and thoughtful person than it is not to be,” said Parrella.
