This past Thursday night on the north patio outside of the UC, UTM hosted its first International Flag Ceremony, capping a weeklong series of events promoting Diversity Week.

Sponsored by the Student Activities Council, the Student Government Association and the Office of Minority Affairs, this year’s theme was “Seeing Ourselves in Each Other.” The purpose of Diversity Week and the flag ceremony was to celebrate and foster cultural growth and diversity on campus and awareness of the concerns of international students within the community.

Activities held during the week allowed students to pull together and learn about different cultures on campus, and to become more aware of who they are and where they come from.

About 30 flags were purchased to represent each country of the international students at UTM, although two flags, those of Honduras and Uzbekistan were overlooked. Promises were made to purchase those flags very soon.

James Orr, president of the Student Government Association, opened the ceremony by welcoming everyone and introducing Dr. Nick Dunagan, chancellor of UTM.

Dunagan thanked those involved for their hard work and also welcomed everyone present, thanking them for taking the time to acknowledge the importance of diversity.

Acknowledging that not all people are willing to be open to those individuals different from themselves, he challenged everyone to learn from our differences and consider the position of others when making decisions. “Why don’t we all make an attempt to try and understand others? We are not perfect at UTM, but we really make an attempt here. But day in and day out we have to continue to work on it.”

A photograph that was taken of all in attendance surrounding the flags, along with the flags themselves, will be displayed inside the University Center for visitors and future generations to enjoy.

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