BSU & UMD Communities Unite Against Hate to Honor Slain BSU Student

First-ever Dialogue Between the Campuses Aims for Solutions After 2LT Richard Collins Tragedy

MEDIA CONTACTS: Damita Chambers (BSU), dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile
Katie Lawson (UMD), lawsonk@umd.edu, 301-405-4622 office

(BOWIE, Md.) – About 150 people will come together to forge solutions to eradicate the culture of hate at the inaugural Forward with Hope: The Legacy of 2LT Richard W. Collins III program on Friday, May 3, 2019, from 5-7 p.m. at the Bowie State University Student Center, Theater. The event is free and open to the public.

As we near the second anniversary of 2LT Collins’s murder, this first-ever dialogue between the Bowie State University and University of Maryland communities aims to activate engaged advocates to take a stand against hate. After the public event, BSU and UMD students will participate in a closed session to share ideas about what they can do to impact the climate of race relations on college campuses.

Just days away from receiving a Bachelor of Science in business administration degree from Bowie State University, 2LT Collins was senselessly killed on May 20, 2017, on the University of Maryland campus. He had recently been commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army.

At the event, a panel of experts from civil rights policy and social science research will empower people to find solutions to combat the culture of hate. One of the panelists is Dawuda Amadu, a graduating senior criminal justice major and ROTC cadet. The parents of the late 2LT Collins, Dawn and Richard Collins, will urge individuals to honor their son’s legacy by championing social justice.

###

About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.