In a hope to stimulate conversation and openness on topics such as gender, race, ethnicity and sexuality, the Russell J. Compton Center of Peace and Justice and LGBTQ Services are co-sponsoring Ally Week.
The events planned for Ally Week encourage diversity and acceptance.
“[Ally Week] is geared toward improving our abilities to be effective social justice allies across a variety of identity-based communities,” said sophomore Annelise Delcambre, a student organizer.
Freshman John Yates, another student organizer, echoed the same sentiments.
“We all experience some type of oppression,” Yates said. “The Compton Center wanted to provide an opportunity for students to come together and collaborate on ways to address these oppressions.”
In an effort to get everyone involved, organizers are utilizing Google Docs to circulate their pledge, titled “I’m a Social Justice Ally” and to get signatures. By signing the pledge, people join the ally community.
The email also offers a list of recommendations to enable individuals to become better allies. The list’s 20 suggestions range from learning more about yours and other’s history, challenging assumptions, assuming people are wondering how safe the environment is for them, watching your linguistics and attending a place of worship other than your own.
An email was sent to all the student organizations with an invitation to participate in Ally Week. Each organization was invited to pick a topic and create a discussion addressing how the campus can address the issue.
“Unfortunately, we could not include all the issues there are,” Yates said via email. “Next year we hope to rotate and have different discussions on different issues.”
Organizations that responded include Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, the V.I.P Project, the Committee for Latino Concerns, Code TEAL and United DePauw. This week will feature discussions on sexual assault and students living with HIV/AIDS. Ally Week will conclude with a campus-wide AIDS awareness walk sponsored by Lambda Sigma Upsilon. The walk will take place in Bowman Park this Saturday.
“The hope is that the campus community will be able to walk away from this week with a better understanding about how we, on an individual level, can act as an ally and/or support system for all people,” Yates said.
