The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Character Council is asking UNL students, faculty, staff and alumni to consider what it means to be a “true Husker” – and sign an online pledge to reflect those values of respect, engagement and service.
The campaign, organizers say, was inspired by a desire to respond to recent events at the University of Oklahoma. Last week, in the wake of a video that showed OU students engaged in an objectionable song that employed a racial epithet, Oklahoma President David Boren detailed what a “real Sooner” is, making a clear distinction between the actions of the students and the values and expectations of the university.
The Character Council is a campus-wide student group that works with the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs to promote integrity and amplify positive character through community interaction and recognition of individual demonstrations of citizenship, caring, commitment, dependability, open-mindedness and respect.
The pledge can be found here.
“As a Character Council whose mission is to grow, recognize and respond to acts of integrity, we felt it was pertinent for the council to put together our vision of a ‘true Husker’ and to bring to the student body in an interactive and engaging way,” said Grace Brown, the group’s president.
The council encourages any UNL student, staff, faculty or alumni to join “as an ongoing promise to the values and integrity that is present at our university,” Brown said. “We also encourage Huskers share this pledge with others … to allow the pledge to be seen by as many members of the Husker community as possible.”
The council also is engaging in a social media campaign that encourages those who sign the pledge to display the group’s “integrity block” (at right) as their profile picture.
“To follow the conversation, we encourage (campus) to use #thepledge when sharing,” she said.
Brown said that while the pledge was not a solution to racism or discrimination of all kinds, it was a promise to continue to work on ways in which “we can, as a unified community, develop ways in which we can make our campus and community more inclusive and full of integrity.”
For more information, those interested can visit the council’s Facebook page or follow @UNLShout_Outs on Twitter.
