UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Students are invited to the Equity & Inclusion Winter Carnival at University Park to celebrate the diversity of the Penn State community and get connected with advocacy or identity-based units and organizations.
The carnival will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 13 in Alumni Hall and the nearby TV lounge on the first floor of the HUB-Robeson Center. It is organized by Student Orientation and Transition Programs as a signature Spring Welcome event in partnership with various student organizations, Educational Equity, Undergraduate Education, and diversity, equity and inclusion units throughout Student Affairs.
The event will feature carnival activities like a caricature artist, a student DJ, inflatable skee ball, a mechanical snowboard and food. Penn State units and student organizations are invited to host engagement stations related to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Engagement stations will inform students about diversity, equity and inclusion resources on campus. They also will be accompanied by an interactive game or activity. Among other resources, the Gender Equity Center, the Multicultural Resource Center, and the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity will all host stations at the winter carnival.
“Our main goal is to connect students with these organizations, services or resources that they may not be aware of or know how to access,” said Ben Giuliana, assistant director of Welcome Programs. “We’re bringing it to students in a fun way so it doesn’t feel like a chore to find these resources that are really valuable to them. It’s also about celebrating the diversity that we have here on campus. There’s a really important push for more diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the University, and I think this is one fantastic way to do that.”
Moving forward, the event organizers plan to host an Equity & Inclusion Carnival every fall and spring semester. They hope to see more units interested in hosting engagement stations and more performance-based student organizations sign up to perform in future carnivals.
Student Orientation and Transition Programs is a unit of Student Affairs and Undergraduate Education.