The University of Alabama SGA kicked off its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week with two events yesterday, with more events to be held through the remainder of the week. This initiative represents a focused collaboration between the SGA and numerous campus groups around campus to celebrate and learn the perspectives of the many cultures and identities in the campus community. Such organizations participating in the week of events include UA Crossroads, SafeZone, Blend, the Black Student Union and many more. 

“By working with these organizations and helping coordinate events they plan, we are collectively able to use this week and share resources to engage a broader number of students than if we were to all work alone,” said SGA executive vice president Ben Leake.

While the events yesterday included an ally training session with SafeZone and a community dialogue with Blend, today’s events are an interfaith breakfast, Tuesday T (featuring a dialogue on deaf culture), an International Culture Trivia Night and an opening ceremony for an Arabian Nights Photography exhibit.

“The SGA is extremely fortunate to have the resources to reach a broad number of students on campus, and we wanted to leverage these resources to assist the organizations as much as possible,” Leake said.

Meanwhile, Wednesday will be solely devoted to the “Why Nott Talk: What Have We Built?”, Thursday to the field day hosted by the Black Student Union, Friday to an African movie night and Saturday to the Hindu festival of Holi. 

Although the SGA is putting all of its efforts into one focused week on the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion on campus into one week, the aforementioned groups work year round toward making progress on the issue. Information on each group can be found by visiting their registered page with the SOURCE.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week also coincides with the open forums being held for the finalists being considered for the position of vice president and associate provost for diversity, equity and inclusion. The person selected for the position will be responsible for making weeks such as this one a focus that is unified every week of the semester. 

Information on the time and location of each event during the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Week can be found at https://www.facebook.com/events/1828857210714009/.