Unity week: a week of fun and togetherness. Everyone needs to get involved and doing this can help self-confidence, social anxiety and spark wonderful conversations with students and teachers who never cross paths.

This event is a new addition to the Camas High School school year. It is a reworked version of last year’s “Acceptance Week.” The spirit week was created and then later finalized by CHS graduate Brenton Riddle, who created Unity Week to provide insight for people who do not know much about the clubs and to have people get more involved.

There are 54 different clubs ranging from table tennis to lit lovers, and students can create new clubs for whatever they want. If students are interested in creating a club or participating in one, it is a great addition to a resume or skill set for future applications. Getting involved with different clubs allows people to make new friends with people from different ethnic backgrounds, who speak different languages, and learn new skills along the way.

Unity Week provides club booths for the clubs International Human Rights, Gay-Straight Alliance, Deca Girls Represent, and Muslims and Christians Unite. All of these clubs collaborate with one another to create a combined booth as well. Each day people can wear different colors of clothes to support the clubs that they are involved with or would like to bring awareness to. At both A and B lunches during Unity Week, there will booths set

up in the main commons where students can win prizes for visiting. There will also be meetings in the library after school where the clubs hold different activities, present guest speakers, and have conversations about topics pertaining to the club.

One of the leaders of the International Human Rights Club Isabella Herron says, “Unity week was made to bring many different groups of people together. We changed the name because, while we felt like we were already accepted, we wanted everyone to feel invited to come together as a group.” Walter Scheldorf, one of the guest speakers, says that unity week is supposed to promote intersectionality. “It is supposed to create a friendly environment,” he said.

Many people feel like this is a time to open up. Zachary Smith is one of these people. He says, “I guess it is pretty cool; you get to express what you’re feeling.” An anonymous student added, “I don’t like to dress up; it doesn’t make me feel any closer to the students, and it doesn’t show unity. All you’re doing is putting certain colors on your body.” On the other hand, sophomore Christian Ortego says, “I think it’s good, but also can be bad because people are putting themselves out there and they can be made fun of.”

Posters will be put up around the school displaying what colors should be worn as well as what clubs those colors support. Please support the various clubs at CHS by wearing the specified colors on certain days of the week.