Members of the Northern Illinois University women’s basketball and women’s cross country teams spent part of their Tuesday reading to second graders at Tyler Elementary School as part of the Diversity and Inclusion Week.
The week-long event is a part of the Mid-American Conference’s initiatives to support diversity and inclusion within all member institutions and their athletic programs.
NIU student-athletes read a book on anti-bullying on Tuesday and will also be out at two other area schools later in the week reaching over 150 second graders in total to spread this week’s message of diversity and inclusion. NIU Student Athlete Academic Support Services has teamed up with the Second and Seven Foundation, which promotes reading by providing free books and positive role models to kids in need while encouraging young athletes of the community to pay it forward.
The NIU Student Athlete Advisory Committee has created a Twitter hashtag for each day this week, with Tuesday’s being #1PACKMANYVALUES. NIU SAAC is also hosting a cookout with student groups, including the Red Riot and members of the Greek community, at the NIU men’s soccer game against Eastern Illinois Tuesday night.
Each NIU team is creating videos that go along with the daily themes which can be found on their social media feeds and are being shared on NIU Athletics’ social media outlets, and the Huskie SAAC has created a video talking about their commitment to Diversity and Inclusion.
For more information on Diversity and Inclusion Week events, follow NIU SAAC on Twitter @NIUHuskiesSAAC.
