Every spring semester during the month of March, the Equity & Diversity Club celebrates Social Justice Week. To celebrate this year, Equity & Diversity and other members from campus clubs, set up a Tunnel of Oppression that highlights the oppression of minority groups in America.

With the help of students on campus, Equity & Diversity members were able to build a Tunnel of Oppression alongside a Journey to Justice display in the basement of Francis Hall.

“I think the Tunnel turned out really good. I believe that all of the important issues that should be talked about are included. The making of the “The Closet” that brought awareness to the hate crimes LGBTQ+ face was something I was proud to be a part of. I hope people go down and see it to learn from it,” Mary Hoette said.

Equity & Diversity in addition held a Love Thy Neighbor panel discussion that was held in MacHugh Theatre at 6 p.m. The panel discussion included a pastor from a Lutheran church and a Catholic priest .

The panel discussion answered questions about the relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and the churches they represent. This event had a total of 22 guests and held a passionate discussion afterward.

“The Love Thy Neighbor panel would have been much better if they actually found some people who disagreed with one another. There was no one speaking who held a traditional Christian view on sexuality, which made the whole discussion feel very one-sided and, frankly, boring. Even the Catholic priest who was there didn’t represent the official Catholic teaching on the matter, which I believe was known before hand. If GSA and Diversity and Equity (I believe they co-sponsored the event, correct me if I’m wrong) wanted to put on a good event on the subject, they would have found three speakers who represented different views and fostered a dialogue between them rather than just fostering an echo chamber. As it stands, both events could have been done much better,” Joe Siemer said.

As the week was ending, Equity & Diversity hosted a educational bingo game in The Cafeteria. The bingo card included different figures in history, famous social justice hashtags, and important dates for social justice in America.

The prizes included two Polaroid cameras, gifts cards, and a Roku television.

“I thought the bingo game was fun and informative. There were some very passionate winners and it was a bit competitive. I think that’s when it is the most fun. I’m looking forward to any bingo games in the future,” Teagan McAuliffe said.

Equity & Diversity encourages students to participate in the upcoming Hawk Wild event and be on the look out for the end of the year bingo game for Cram Jam.