Imagine walking back from class, minding your own business, when out of nowhere a group of people start throwing rocks at you. It's just after Sept. 11, and Americans are full of confused emotions, including much misdirected hatred for all Muslims.

You are not Muslim, but your skin is dark and the people throwing rocks believe the two are one in the same.

Bystanders do not help, and through their silence, they support what is being done. You run to your dorm room as quickly as possible, and on the way you realize that these people have decided they hate you even though you have never met them.

Kendrick Wilson

That's the story of one hate crime victim here at the UA. She, along with other victims, will be speaking at the "Create a Hate Free Zone" forum hosted by Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority this Saturday.

Mansi Kotwal, a pre-physiology senior and secretary for Theta Nu Xi, is a friend of this victim.

"People shouted things like ÎGo back to your own country,' or ÎYou shouldn't be here,' and tried to make her uncomfortable," Kotwal said. "Whether or not she's Muslim shouldn't matter. No one should have to go through what she went through."

Some members of Theta Nu Xi were unaware of how pervasive prejudice is throughout our community. "I was just having a conversation with a group of friends and they were unaware that Îbeaner' was a derogatory term used to describe people of Mexican descent," explained Sruthi Talluri, a business senior. "This came as a surprise to me, as we had all lived in the Southwest for a majority of our lives."

Indeed, many people don't realize they are showing blatant prejudice when it happens. Education is often the only way the myths of prejudice can be broken.

A lack of understanding of other cultures is evident in the way the Indian hate crime victim at the UA and a Sikh victim in Mesa who was killed were mistaken for Muslims.

The perpetrators of those crimes probably did not know anything that was true about the Muslim religion, except that they hated it.

The purpose of this forum is to educate the public about hate crimes and about breaking the patterns of prejudice that lead to them.

"When people act on their instincts and commit these type of crimes, they are starting a chain reaction of events that will lead to more violence and hatred," Kotwal pointed out. "We need to be there to stop this rippling effect, and the place to start is educating the public."

Elisabeth Yahl, an education sophomore and member of Theta Nu Xi, hopes that learning more about the topic will help people who may unwittingly contribute to a hate crime avoid doing so. "Many (hate crimes) occur due to subconscious thoughts or ideas that people act on in anger," she noted. "This is so dangerous because many of us could harbor such anger and these misconceptions and not even know it."

Nevertheless, education is not the only step that can be taken to prevent hate crimes.

Legislation is highly controversial, but is becoming more common across the country. The city of Tucson even has an anti-hate crime law on the books.

While some argue that legislating what a person was thinking when he or she committed a crime is not appropriate and may violate the First Amendment, it remains a vital component of stopping hate crimes. Hate crime perpetrators are often a larger threat to society than other criminals, and are more likely to strike again since their violence is directed not at individuals, but entire groups.

The Anti-Defamation League, an organization fighting anti-Semitism, bigotry and extremism, claims that hate crimes require additional laws because the pain they inflict goes beyond that of other crimes.

Hate crimes can intimidate an entire community of people and leave them feeling isolated and vulnerable to repeat attacks. Undeniably, the effects of hate crimes cannot be measured in terms of individual victims or injuries.

It's hard to believe hate crimes actually occur in our diverse community. Much work needs to be done to combat this harsh reality. Efforts to educate the community on hate crimes and the groups that are targeted must be embraced.

Unfortunately, while everyone would do well to attend forums like the one this Saturday, those who need it most are the least likely to go. Until our society has reached a point where we are no longer plagued by hate crimes, more education and tougher legislation are necessary.