A crowd of about 200 people turned out at the Hopkinton Town Common on Saturday afternoon for a rally and marched to bring awareness to racially charged sentiments of hate against Asian-Americans. This rally was organized by the Hopkinton Chinese American Association, with support from the Hopkinton Freedom Team and attended by many residents and organizations in town including the South Asian Circle of Hopkinton. The participants held signs and marched around the Common with signs voicing their anti-hatred agenda.    Click here to view photos and read about the event:  https://hopkintonindependent.com/town-common-marchers-call-out-anti-asian-bigotry As part of the event, HPS junior Kevin Gu gave a powerful speech about the issues that have been transpiring recently throughout the country and said it is high time to call out and speak up against these injustices.  Below is a video of his speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAq9u0bl6aM There has been an increase in anti-Asian cri

A two-part Upstander Training (also known as Active Bystander training) was held on two Saturday mornings during the winter of 2021 (February 6th and March 20th) for members of the Hopkinton Freedom Team, Hopkinton employees and members of Hopkinton boards and committees. The training was sponsored by the Hopkinton Youth & Family Services with support from members of the Hopkinton Youth Commission and provided by True  Story Theater ( www.truestorytheater.com ) trainers and facilitators. What is Active Bystander training? “Passive bystanders witness harm-doing and do nothing. Many reasons: fear, assuming someone else will act, not knowing what to do, being too polite, not wanting to take time...Active bystanders witness harm-doing and take constructive action. Positive action can take many forms, both during and after the event, depending on the situation, the persons involved, and the temperament and abilities of the bystander. Interventions are needed in a wide range of situation