After a student was killed in what KC police are calling a possible hate crime, the English Language Learners class is starting a campaign to promote equality and tolerance among different religions and ethnicities. Sophomore Abdisamad Sheikh Hussein, who went by Adam, died after a hit and run incident on Dec. 4.

According to members of the Somali center, the suspect had been making verbal attacks on the Muslim faith on Facebook and he had been threatening people in the Muslim community, pulling a gun on them and threatening to kill them because of their Muslim faith.

In response to the loss of a fellow classmate and friend, the counseling office had additional counselors on campuses in the district to help students as they learned about the news of Adam’s passing.

The ELL class also started a hash tag on Twitter that promotes tolerance, in the hopes that attention will be drawn to the situation and possible hate crimes can be avoided in the future. Sheikh Hussein’s sister, Hafsa Sheikh Hussein, suggested the slogan, “#Enoughisenough.” Adam used to say it often, according to ELL teacher Heather Macintosh.

Senior Ali Harb was the first to tweet the hash tag with the message “Enough is enough,” in relation to Adam’s death.

“Seeing all these hate crimes with Ferguson and the whole Eric Garner thing, I was just sick and tired of people hating each other,” said Harb.

Harb isn’t the only student in the ELL class who is tired of seeing hate and is working to promote the end of hate crimes.

“To me it’s sick. I don’t understand it,” said senior Kahluna Bouchard. “This kid never did anything, but this guy took away his future, and now his parents will never get to see what he would’ve become.”

Members of the ELL class hope to promote tolerance among religions, races and ethnicities.

“Race and religion shouldn’t matter,” said Macintosh. “We should all just be people, which is one of the reactions from the students in the ELL class.”

The ELL class, along with teacher Macintosh, is working in an effort to donate to the Hate Crime Prevention Foundation under Adam’s name. The class has focused their sadness into something better, according to Macintosh, who also said that the students want Adam’s death to mean something, and that they want to support his family.

Harb said he is hoping the campaign will promote the end of hate crimes and that students around the school will realize that hating others is pointless.

“I hope people will step up in a good way to make a change and stop hate crimes,” said Bouchard.

The ELL class is working with Student Council to organize a walk in Adam’s memory, in the hopes that it too will promote the end of hate crimes.