Story by Anaiyeh Smith/Social Media Coordinator
Video by Erin Wides/Features Editor

The Office of Student Activities and The Spotlight is hosting its annual Unity Week from Feb. 18-21.

Unity Week is designed to create awareness of social justice topics and unite the campus as well as celebrate the diversity in our UCM community through a week of events, according to a Student Activities news release.

The week starts with Tunnel of Oppression on Monday and Tuesday.  The tunnel will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and starts in Union 234. Tunnel of Oppression is an interactive experience. Participants walk through different rooms designed to display oppression of marginalized groups. The topics this year includes racism, privilege, mental health, LGBTQ+, body image and domestic violence.

The next event is Unity Pole on Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Union Atrium.

Unity Pole is designed to raise consciousness about the labels we give ourselves and others and explores how those labels support and limit building interconnected, interesting communities, according to a news release. The project consists of posts, each with identifiers such as, “I’m a parent,” “I speak English as a second language,” and “I identify as LGBTQ.” Participants tie colorful yarn to posts that reflect their identities. Their yarn intertwines with others to create a web of interconnectedness. In the end, we see that we are all connected by something, and it’s our diversity that builds a strong and vibrant community. The Unity Pole will be on display until 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21.

There will be a spoken word artist Wednesday evening. Ashlee Haze performs at 7 p.m. in Union 237B. Haze is a two-time Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist and Southeast Regional Slam Champion.

The last day of Unity Week will feature Native American Culture Appreciation on Thursday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Union Atrium. For this event, participants will create a dreamcatcher and learn about its Native American origin.

Unity Week concludes with an American Democracy Speaker. Darryl Howard will speak at 7 p.m. in the Morris Building, Room 200.  Howard will share his work with the Innocence Project and how he was wrongly convicted and exonerated.

For more information, contact Haydee Reyes at [email protected].