What usually comes right before the indulging of a meal, blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, or a marriage between lovers? A few words! So it's only right that before Unity Week starts, the occasion is blessed with good wishes and a little insight as to why Unity Week is so important at Kean University. At the opening address Student Organization of Kean University Inc. President Kush Parikh stood at a podium in the Little Theatre, while students straggled in taking their seats. He energetically greeted everyone with a warm welcome and prepared them for the speaker who was about to give a little insight on Unity Week. Dr. Dennis Klein, professor of History and Director of the Jewish Studies program, took the stage alerting everyone that he was not there to lecture. He discussed the melting pot to which diversity is the main ingredient.
Since it's inception in 1997, Unity Week has successfully emphasized cultural awareness each year. "We work really hard to remind ourselves that we can work together, hence a whole week has been dedicated," said Dr. Klein. He encouraged students and faculty to participate in each of the upcoming events. However Dr. Klein did enlighten the audience with statistics of race and ethnicity saying that Kean University is currently 56% White, 29% Black, 11% Hispanic, and 4% Asian. With these numbers revealed, he questioned how diverse the community really is. He reminded the listeners that diversity does not always mean unity. Just because there are so many different ethnic groups at Kean, does not mean they all interact with each other. He even proposed this question, "When we socialize do we do it on a superficial level?" He further discussed that diversity and unity can work together but can also become a problem. At KU, Unity Week is solely about enthusiasm, so if there is any negativity, it does not have to go home, but it needs to stay far away from KU. As a bonus, the Portuguese American Club (PACK) provided a table full of food and beverages in the Pre-Function Lobby. While people gathered their food some asked, "Hey what's in this?" Members of the PACK gladly answered all questions. If you missed out on any events of Unity Week this year you pretty much missed a lot. Stay tuned for Unity Week 2008.
2008 Woodie Awards
