Suffolk is celebrating its annual Unity Week, full of events that strive to bring the community together through promoting diversity and student groups on campus.
The week is possible through the work of Suffolk’s Program Council and Student Leadership and Involvement, as well as the participation of a vast range of student organizations.
Many student groups have collaborated to host a diverse range of events for the Suffolk community. The event-packed week features something for everybody, including tasting cultural foods, enjoying sports games, watching theatre productions, and participating in trivia and scavenger hunts.
Malorie Kranis, a sophomore RA involved in Unity Week, has partnered with Program Council along with multiple other student groups at the Unity Week committee meeting that invited all groups to help plan and participate in the week.
“The committee allowed for a lot of student groups to get involved,” Kranis said. It is important for as many groups as possible to be active in the events and planning “to build unity on campus,” Kranis said.
The kickoff event is the Unity Week Showcase, spotlighting the artistic side of Suffolk’s diverse cultures and talents at the C. Walsh Theatre on Thursday, March 1. The event will feature singing, dancing, poetry, and fashion from around the world. The Performing Arts Office will feature performances from some of its groups during the event as well.
Diversity Services will be hosting its fifth annual Multicultural Summit this Saturday, March 3, which aims to teach students how to communicate across cultural lines and give them the skills to tackle talking about sensitive situations. The all day event invites all students to participate, especially leaders and members of this year’s Alternative Spring Break trips, who will soon be dealing face-to-face with these issues of social justice.
The Interfaith Center is hosting special events this week to promote learning about and accepting all beliefs. Along with hosting its regular events, like Hatha Yoga sessions on Thursdays at 1pm and studying religious practices and texts, the Interfaith Center will add some spice to its lineup with Tarot Card readings and a panel discussion on dialogues between religions on Tuesday March 6.
An array of student organizations, including ethnic groups from Diversity Services, Study Abroad, Program Council, Residence Life, and Disability Services will be helping to put on the Cultural Food Luncheon on Tuesday March 6. The event invites students to taste food from all over the world and learn more about different cultures. All students who participate are given a cultural passport filled with question for them to discover the answers to by sampling the foods and interacting with the students running the food tables, according to Kranis, who worked specifically on planning this event. Passports will be entered into a raffle for surprise gifts.
The Residence Hall Association, along with the help of other groups, is holding a citywide scavenger hunt, called Searching for Different Perspectives, on Saturday March 3. Groups of students will roam the city with a list of clues to discover diversity themed items, hoping to win a prize. The Think Fast Trivia Night will also bring groups of student together to compete for the $200 prize based off their knowledge of our city, pop culture, and university.
On Sunday March 4, there will be a faculty versus student basketball game in the Ridgeway gym. Promoting school spirit and community, students can sign up for the team to take on their professors or just come by to watch an entertaining, energetic sports game.
The Modern Theatre will be host to the opening of “Deported / a dream play,” produced by Boston Playwrights’ Theatre in association with Suffolk. The professional production will be running at the Modern until April 1.
A full list of all the events, times, and locations can be found on Suffolk University Unity Week’s official Facebook page events tab (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Suffolk–University–Unity–Week/251805371564071?sk=events).
