The Campus Activities Board is hosting its first Diversity Week to showcase Lindenwood’s diversity and educate students about different cultures.

The idea for Diversity Week came from Ethan Miller, graduate adviser for the CAB.

“When I started in this position back in August, I decided that Lindenwood needed to honor our diversity a little more than what we have in the past,” Miller said.

CAB Event Coordinator T.J. Tipton said having an entire week dedicated to diversity, rather than just a day or two, is a must.

“Diversity is something we are trying to cherish,” said Tipton. “We are trying to showcase all of these cultures, and you can’t do that in one day.”

The week of events that started Sunday consists of several events: Lion’s Lyrics, a poetry night where students and a poet, Odd?Rod, reads; ISF Henna Tattoos, where you can get temporary Henna tattoos from a guest artist; BSU Greek Yard Show, where you can come watch the sororities and fraternities perform at the Butler Loft; and lastly, “They Call Me Q” play, which is a one-actor show about cultural pressures.

Kayla Drake, a CAB event coordinator, said, “Obviously you can’t have an event for every culture, but we tried to get a very diverse [group of] culture.”

Tipton agreed and added, “And still have some [events] that make people feel included at the same time.”

Drake said that there were many CAB members who worked together to come up with all of the events.

CAB members are also passing out bags of “diversity beans,” which is a small bag of assorted jelly beans with messages inside that say, “This candy is just like people; you can’t determine what is on the inside by simply looking at the outside. It reminds us to experience people one at a time and enjoy their unique qualities. Diversity is strength!”

Throughout the week, there will be a large banner hanging in Evans Commons displaying different-colored cut-out hands students wrote on, saying what makes them diverse.

CAB’s reason for hosting Diversity Week is to raise awareness about how all people are different.

“Lindenwood has a lot of people that are different than you, and we really want to showcase that,” said Miller. “We want to show that we are proud of the students and let them know that we are thinking of them.”

For more information about the Diversity Week events, go to the events page on Involve U through your student portal.