A Unity March was held Oct. 9 with student organizations and sororities in attendance as an initiative to allow students to connect as a community.

Beginning at the amphitheater located near the Halladay building with students and staff alike walking from there to the Rayburn Student Center. 

According to Associate Professor Dr. LaVelle Hendricks, chairman, diversity, equity and inclusion committee, the turnout was impressive, considering the current pandemic.

“We thought that perhaps we would have 50 people in light of the pandemic that we are dealing with,” Hendricks said. “But we had well over 400 people show up. That was absolutely crazy, that exceeded our expectations.”

According to Hendricks, the Unity March was launched by the diversity, equity and inclusion committee. He stated that the event was an effort to show solidarity among the student body.

“We wanted to reach out and show an initiative,” Hendricks said. “A oneness, a closeness of the campus between students.”

Even with the current Black Lives Matter protests taking place, Hendricks stated that the event was not the result of any particular movement.

“Our focus with the Unity March was not about the Black Lives Matter movement, was not about any other social group that’s out there,” he said. “It’s about projecting the image of unity and oneness here on the campus.”

As for what he wants students to know regarding the event, he stated that the focus of the Unity March is to show what brings everyone on the campus together.

“The whole focus of the event is to show that there are more things that unite us here at A&M-Commerce than divide us,” Hendricks said.

“That they can find that there are more common denominators among us than divide us.”

University president Dr. Mark Rudin was in attendance as well as the Black Student Union, Alpha Kappa Alpha, NAACP and Alphi Phi Alpha.