PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 22, No. 5, Sept. 5, 2002

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Events announced for ‘Unity Month,’ a celebration fostering diversity

Unity Month activities: www.uiuc.edu/ro/team/unitymonth

A variety of educational and entertainment events will be held on the UI’s Urbana campus in September to commemorate Unity Month, a communitywide celebration to foster diversity and heighten sensitivity to issues of gender, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation and ability/disability.

Opening ceremonies for the event were held on the Illinois Quad on Sept. 3.

Jambana, a concert featuring a variety of musical groups on two stages, will be held from 6 to 10 p.m. Sept. 13 on the forecourt of Foellinger Auditorium on the Quad. The free public concert will include performances by Illini Contraband, a jazz-funk group; a cappella singing groups the Other Guys and the Girls Next Door; and the Steel Band from the School of Music.

Also performing will be Chambana, a jazz quintet comprising university administrators and faculty members; the independent rock band Roscoe Plush; the Failures; Amasong; and Candy Foster and Shades of Blue.

A candle-lighting ceremony will follow the concert. More information about the Jambana concert is on the event’s Web site: www.students.uiuc.edu/~arbhatta/jambana.

Educational events during Unity Month will include a racial sensitivity workshop, a freshman forum on diversity, an interfaith discussion panel about religions and an orientation session on the campus’s cultural centers.

A multicultural art and fashion show, performances of poetry from different cultures and a display of cultural items by registered student organizations also are planned.

University students will conclude the monthlong celebration with closing ceremonies and a multicultural ball at the Hawthorne Suites in Champaign on Sept. 27.

The Unity Month observance was established in September 2001 by joint proclamation of the Champaign and Urbana mayors and the chancellor to celebrate diversity and foster unanimity.