Unity Day is just around the corner, and students are gearing up to celebrate it!
Unity Day is a national holiday organized by the Parental Advocacy Coalition for Education Rights (PACER) Center aimed at combating bullying in schools. Originally created in 2011 to promote kindness, it has endured ever since and is now the hallmark of National Bullying Prevention Month.
This year, Unity Day will take place on Wednesday, October 23rd. To mark the occasion, the Unified Club will have a banner that reads Choose Kindness available for students to sign at the front of the lunch room, allowing students to commit to choosing a more inclusive school.
“[This] is a really important message for our club and school that aims to ensure everyone feels included,” junior Ella Palm said.
In addition, the Unified Club has organized dress-up days throughout the week to encourage school spirit and participation in choosing kindness. The dress-up days are listed below.
Monday, October 20th: Pajama Day. Students should wear their comfy PJs to school.
Tuesday, October 21st: Twin Tuesday. In this dress-up day, students are encouraged to pair up with one another and wear the same outfit.
Wednesday, October 22nd: Be Kind Shirt. Students should wear Be Kind Shirts to school to promote kindness. If students don’t have a Be Kind Shirt, they can purchase one at lunch on Tuesday, October 21st, or just wear orange.
Thursday, October 23rd: Groutfit. Students are invited to wear grey, monotone clothing.
Friday, October 24th: Jersey Day. Students are supposed to wear jerseys to school.
Some students may be confused between Unity Day and Live Unified Week. Although both are organized by the Unified Club and include dress-up days throughout their respective weeks, they differ slightly in their purpose.
“Unity Day is to show a commitment to bullying prevention and to spread acceptance, kindness, and inclusion for all. Live Unified is through Special Olympics MN and is an initiative to combat ableism and to promote meaningful inclusion,” Unified Club advisor Michelle Swenson said.
