"Erasing More Hate" Flyer News online article by Jordana Pereira

Monday, March 25th, marked the revival of the FHS Marketing Class’s Erase the Hate campaign. What started off as a simple project in Jeremy Flagg’s marketing class, quickly escalated into a school wide campaign during the 2012 school year.  Students in the class made the famous purple Erase The Hate shirts that sold like fresh baked cookies at lunch. According to Jeremy Flagg, he “cleared out” every purple shirt at all A.C. Moore stores within a 50-mile radius of the school, and arrived to Framingham High an hour early every day in order to produce more shirts for sale.      This year, the class is reviving the campaign, in hopes of making it bigger and better. The purple shirts are returning with a fresh look. With emphasis on the slogan, “NO H8” the shirts are again handmade by Mr. Flagg and students everyday before and after school. On Monday, April 1st, Flagg presented his “Last Lecture” in front of students and coworkers. The lecture was the starting line of the campaign, meant for students and teachers to start thinking about the bullying on a more open and public level. He challenged his audience to be a part of the change: “Be willing to be the friend who lends a shoulder to cry on. But more so, be willing to be the stranger that offers a helping hand.”      In addition to the t-shirt sales being revived, the campaign is beginning new sales. Purple ribbons and “NO H8” dog tags will soon become popular on backpacks, lanyards, and key chains in the school, and hopefully will go on to be spotted throughout the town as the class works on spreading the word to middle and elementary schools in the future.      Along with the sales, social media has become a huge marketing outlet for the cause. FHS: Erase The Hate can be “liked” on Facebook and even “followed” on Twitter. Photographs of students with the “NO H8” slogan have recently begun popping up on Instagram and as profile pictures on Facebook. The slogan is either on the students’ cheeks or duct taped to their mouths, representing the hope for an end to bullying. The ultimate goal is to make a difference by sending out a stronger and more impactful message throughout the town and school on the social issues present not only in the packed hallways of Framingham High, but in society as a whole.