In hopes of encouraging acceptance and embracement of diversity, Principal Moses Cheng, Student Council, and ROAR are teaming up to organize Mix-It-Up Lunch Day on Friday.

“We want kids to demonstrate compassion, acceptance, and resilience. We have a list of the attributes of being ethically responsible and one them is appreciating diversity. So, I talked to Student Council and one of the kids suggested, ‘If we want kids to get to know each other, why not do a Mix-It-Up Lunch?’” Cheng said. “That’s how it started. We looked into the idea, talked to several faculty members, thought it was a good idea, and just ran with it.”

The idea for the event was borrowed from the Teaching Tolerance organization.

“Many schools have been doing this for a long time. It is something that other groups have talked about before, but we finally said, ‘okay, well, let’s actually do this!’” Student Council adviser Candace Fikis said.

But although the event is similar to the Teacher Tolerance organization’s version Student Council and Cheng decided to make the event a bit more special.

“Dr. Cheng had this idea where we would make a map of the world, but put ‘West Chicago’ in the middle so that we could know that we all came from different parts of this world, whether it’d be from from Asia, Europe, or Latin America,” Fikis said. “But no matter where we all came from, some forces all brought us together. It’s a symbolic gesture.”

Students who participate will receive nachos but are required to stay in the Mix-It-Up section and put a sticker on the map on the spot where they are from.

“You have to stay in that section, but you don’t have to stay at the same table. The point is to mix and mingle. Student Council and ROAR mentors will encourage people and help the conversations happen,” Fikis said.

Although the event’s purpose is mainly focused on diversity, the groups hope the event will help ease the recent tension students have been facing after the presidential election.

“We know that (the presidential election) was a catalyst for a lot of emotion, a lot of people feeling disenfranchised, it’s lead to a lot of negative rhetoric,” Fikis said. “I hope this event puts a dent in that. I’m optimistic that we can do something and learn that we’re all the same.”

The event also gives students a chance to develop new friendships.

“We’re creating opportunities for kids to be connected to each other beyond who they normally interact with..” Cheng said. “This is just one of hopefully several ideas that we could do to just get kids to branch out and meet new people.”

The groups involved are looking forward to the event.

“Student Council and the ROAR mentors are really excited, they really want to see this go,” Fikis said.

Student Council hopes to inspire other groups to create similar events.

“We want other groups to follow us. It doesn’t stop at Student Council. I hope that other clubs and groups can find ways to do similar things. We’d love to have more and not just us,” Fikis said.