The Vikes for Action club distributed pins reading “Vikings for love” and “Vikings against hate” to students in homeroom Sept. 5 and first period Sept. 6.

Led by senior Ray Crist and junior Zoe Kaufmann, the club raises awareness and money for social justice causes like Planned Parenthood and the 2016 Women’s March. Club members first designed and ordered the pins last year as part of a fundraiser for the ACLU, but this summer, members of the administration requested that the club produce more to distribute. In addition to the pins, Whitmaniacs members placed a banner at the main stairwell reading “Hate has no place here, we choose love.”

“We really love that the pins exposed more people to what we do,” Crist said. “We’re really happy to help the school give out a really positive message.”

Principal Alan Goodwin hoped the pins would start conversations among students about the prominent social issues in our society, he said.

“We need solutions,” Goodwin said. “A lot of people aren’t able to have civil discourse.”

Sophomore Christina Johnson supported the overall message of the poster and pins, but said she wished the club had gone further with their lesson.

“I don’t think a pin will stop issues like discrimination and bullying at school,” Johnson said. “More action should be taken to stop them.”

The pins were only one of many steps the administration and Vikes for Action will take to end hate speech and bullying, Goodwin said.

“I want Whitman to be an example of a place where people can feel safe and be able to talk about issues even if they have different points of view,” Goodwin said. “I’ll continue to brainstorm with whoever comes up with good ideas.”