On March 26, the Sun Room in the Memorial Union will be host to a number of organizations designed to encourage diversity and support minority students here on campus. The Government of the Student Body will be putting on the first annual Diversity Resources Fair from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. March 26.

“We try so hard to emphasize how important diversity is at Iowa State through speeches and articles, but actually doing something and making something happen is a whole different story,” said Presha Kardile, senior in management and GSB director of student diversity.

The event is going to look like a mini club fest for diversity, Kardile said. Departments and student organizations will get together to educate the ISU population on the resources available for students of diversity and organizations that aim to promote diversity.

“This is the first time ever that this has happened at Iowa State, so if people come they will get to experience something that has never happened before,” Kardile said.

Iowa State is home to 7,486 U.S. minority and international students, making up 22.5 percent of the student body population. Forty-nine percent of the student body population is made up of women. 

“We live in a world where we now need to understand where others are coming from if you want to live in a peaceful environment,” Kardile said.

Last year, Kardile began to see if anyone would have interest in an event like this. Since then she has organized 13 departments and organizations to participate in the Diversity Resources Fair.

Kardile said that although it is a fair for diversity, the event is for everyone, not only for students who require these services.

“I think one of the coolest learning opportunities we have as college students is to be interacting with diverse groups and meeting people who are different from us, and this resource fair is a one-stop-shop opportunity to have these interactions,” said Hillary Kletscher, vice president of GSB and senior in biological systems.

The event will have resources for LGBT students as well as minority and international students.

GSB has been reaching out more to diverse organizations in this past year, giving GSB the chance to engage in these diverse relationships and broaden their perspectives, Kletscher said.

“Maybe it will help you be able to relate better to someone in your residence hall or someone in one of your classes,” Kletscher said.

Kardile said it is important for GSB to reach out to students to not only educate people but also to give them the opportunity and information needed to get more involved with GSB.

“We need a GSB that is representative of our student body, and you can’t do that if you don’t reach out to students,” Kardile said.

Groups are always stronger when we work together, and we will all have greater accomplishments if we embrace each other’s differences and use them to our advantage. The Diversity Resources Fair will help make those connections and build those relationships, Kletscher said.

“You never know what you’ll learn. So, whether you’re there for five minutes or you’re there for an hour, you can learn something that will help you become more open-minded,” Kletscher said.