USA NETWORK & VERIZON BRING THE CHARACTERS UNITE COLLEGE TOUR TO UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK

Students Can Create Personalized T-Shirts and Photos to Join the Characters Unite “I Won’t Stand For…” Movement to Promote Greater Tolerance, Respect and Acceptance

Verizon and USA Network have teamed up for the Characters Unite College Tour to encourage students to use technology and their voices to help solve some of the country’s biggest social issues, such as stopping hate and discrimination and preventing dating abuse. The tour will make a stop at University of Maryland’s College Park campus on Thursday, October 23, 10:00AM – 6:00PM, with a special appearance by Chris Gorham, star of USA Network’s Covert Affairs.

Students will be invited to create a free “I Won’t Stand For…” t-shirt, personalizing it by stamping a word to fill in the blank, such as bullying, dating violence, racism, religious intolerance, sexism, homophobia, ableism and more. In addition, they can take a photo to be a part of the Characters Unite gallery and immediately share the image with their friends and family via social media, joining millions of people – including top musicians, movie and television stars, athletes and political leaders – in the Characters Unite campaign to combat all forms of hate and discrimination.

In addition, students will have the opportunity to learn more about loveisrespect, a project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline and Break the Cycle, a program, dedicated to empowering young adults to prevent and end abusive relationships, and join Verizon in speaking out against domestic violence through the company’s Hopeline® from Verizon program. Verizon is providing HopeLine collection bins on site for participants to donate no-longer-used wireless phones and accessories that will be used to support domestic violence organizations nationwide.

The tour also includes stops at Columbus State Community College, Howard University, Midlands Technical College, Georgia Perimeter College, University of Texas: Austin and University of New Mexico: Albuquerque.

More information and resources are available at www.charactersunite.com.

​WHERE:

Thursday, October 23, 2014
10:00AM-6:00PM
University of Maryland
3100 Chesapeake Rd #035
College Park, MD 20742

*Event will take place in front of McKeldin Library

About Characters Unite

Characters Unite, USA Network’s award-winning public service program, was created to address the social injustices and cultural divides still prevalent in our society. Inspired by USA Network’s iconic “Characters Welcome” brand and with the support of leading national nonprofit organizations, the ongoing campaign is dedicated to supporting activities and messaging that combat prejudice and intolerance while promoting understanding and acceptance -- on-air, online, and in communities across the country. www.charactersunite.com

About USA Network

The #1 network in all of basic cable for an unprecedented seven straight years, USA Network is seen in over 102 million U.S. homes. USA is a leader in scripted programming with a powerful stable of originals, spectacular live television and is home to the best in blockbuster theatrical films, a broad portfolio of acquired series and entertainment events. A trailblazer in digital innovation and storytelling, USA is defining, driving and setting the industry standard for Social TV. USA is a program service of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBCUniversal. The award-winning website is located at http://www.usanetwork.com. Characters Welcome.