Unity Week End with the Unity Ball
Throughout next week, the College of Fine Arts will be sponsoring Unity Week. This is a week-long event to celebrate diverse experiences, stories and journeys at USD with multiple events and panels.
President of the Union of African American Students (UAAS) Bennett Clary said they were unable to secure the MUC Ballroom for the spring semester and were close to not hosting a major event.
“We had honestly discussed not hosting any major event this year and just doing multiple small events that get our name out in the community,” Clary said. “Marcus Destin, the coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Affairs, brought the idea of the Unity Ball to us when he was planning Unity Week. We jumped on board because hosting the Ruby Ball is always so much fun for us and we wanted an opportunity to have that experience, even if it wasn’t our original plan.”
Clary said UAAS isn’t the only group producing an event during Unity Week as three other groups are hosting but many others are contributing.
“Tiospaye, the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Native Student Services are hosting the event,” Clary said. “We’ve also had donations from Spectrum, the Cultural Wellness Coalition, and the Campus Activities Board. This event wouldn’t be possible without volunteers from the African Student Association, the CWC and Asian Students in America.”
Clary said the UAAS only started planning for the ball just a month ago, but she thinks it will turn out better than expected.
“We did this all in a month and it feels rushed, but I know it will turn out better than we expect,” Clary said.
Throughout the Unity Ball event, there will be finger foods that will be provided by Sedexo. Clary said there will also be live music by a Los Angeles based artist.
“There will be finger foods and mocktails. Guests will be able to enjoy live music from Daniel French who is a musician and composer based in Los Angeles. The rest of the night we will have a DJ,” Clary said.
The Unity Ball doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the live performance will begin around 7 p.m. UAAS will also be announcing the Unity Awards at the ball as well.
Tickets for the Unity Ball can be found on the USD Union Instagram page at usdunion or can be found by scanning the QR code on their posters around campus. Tickets are $10 before the event and will be bumped up to $15 at the door with part of the proceeds going to Dakotathon.
There will also be four other events on campus during the week starting with the Shades of Excellence: A Conversation with Rasheena Nash and Tazbah Chavez located in the MUC Ballroom at 6 p.m on Nov. 1.
This will be followed by Until Lions Write Scripts Workshop: Unleash the Power of Your Story with Daniel French in Churchill Hanes room 101 at 5 p.m. on Nov. 2.
Following will be the annual First Friday event to kick off Native American Heritage Month in the MUC Pit at 5 p.m.
The last event will be Saturday, Nov. 4 in the MUC Ballroom where The Unity Ball (formerly known as Ruby Ball) will be held.
