The Tour for Humanity visits Loyalist College

By Katy Burley

BELLEVILLE – Loyalist College had a visit from a presentation on wheels Thursday that discussed major historical incidents and how they still affect us today.

The Tour for Humanity, a bus with chairs and big-screen televisions inside, held four 45-minute presentations at the college. The presentations talked about global issues including genocide, terrorism, the Holocaust, hate crimes and bullying.

The presentation started off with a video in which the audience heard from victims of genocide, racism and other hate crimes. The video also showed brief clips from the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Education associate Laura Dantsis presented a slide show with pictures and sound clips from different historical moments involving genocide, the Holocaust, bullying and more.

Dantsis spoke briefly about some of the people involved in these events, from Anne Frank and the Holocaust to a much more recent victim: Amanda Todd, who took her own life in 2012 after being bullied to the point where she felt she couldn’t escape. The presentations are meant to inspire people of all ages to take action against hate and intolerance, Dantsis said.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, a Toronto organization that helps keep memories of the Holocaust alive and promotes tolerance and social justice, started the tour in November, Dantsis said.

The tour has travelled to 23 cities on its way across Ontario.

Dantsis got involved in December. “I wanted to be a part of something to teach kids about respect,” she said. “I think it’s great to be a part of something that can make a difference.” Her interest stemmed from a global-issues course she took while she was studying social work, she added.

Dantsis said she likes the immediate response she gets from students after the presentation. Some students have told her they wanted to start anti-bullying clubs, she said.

“We all want equality,” said Dantsis. “With that comes the responsibility to other people.”