In honor of Diversity Education Week at N.C. State, several students distributed free “I [heart] Diversity” T-Shirts at the Brickyard Monday. 

The shirt distribution marked the beginning of the University’s fourth annual Diversity  Education Week. Beginning last year, various student organizations partnered with the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Center to promote student diversity during the week. 

According to Justine Hollingshead, the director of the GLBT Center, Diversity Education Week is a good start for talking about diversity, but the University is trying to keep the discussion going even after the week is over. 

“We don’t want, at N.C. State, there to just be one time that you talk about diversity,” Hollingshead said. “We should be talking about diversity all the time.”

Asante Amaning, a junior in environmental science and member of the diversity commission, said he is looking forward to a forum Tuesday sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences that will discuss research about underrepresented populations. The topic of the discussion will be the portrayal of minorities in the United States. 

Amaning said he is involved with Diversity Education Week because thinks everyone should experience unfamiliar cultures.  

“My dad is actually from Ghana and my mom is from North Carolina, so I’ve always been mixed up with different crowds and diverse cultures,” Amaning said. “I think that’s a really important experience for people to have.”

The T-shirts will feature a rainbow heart, which is typically associated with the GLBT Center community, and an N.C. State block “S” in the word diversity.

According to Hollingshead, the design is simple yet powerful. 

“When you see the T-shirt, it catches your eye,” Hollingshead said. “The heart is a rainbow and most people get what that means. Then you add the word diversity with the block “S” in there, it represents N.C. State and that says a lot.”

This is the eighth year that the GLBT Center has distributed free “I [Heart] Diversity” T-shirts to students. Hollingshead said that the purpose of the shirts is to show N.C. State’s support for diversity and acceptance without targeting specific minorities.

“To say I [Heart] Diversity, you could be an ally, you could be a member of the community … and someone isn’t necessarily going to know your sexual orientation by wearing the shirt,” Hollingshead said. 

There are plenty of opportunities for students wanting to stay involved with diversity events on campus after this week. Groups such as the GLBT Center, the Women’s Center, the Union Activities Board Diversity Activities Board and the Student Government Diversity Commission hold events year round. 

One upcoming event is Cabaret, one of the GLBT Center’s signature programs, which is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 15.