The standard events of Unity Week made appearances again in 2006, from the Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast to Saturday's Miss Unity Pageant.
However, the naming of a Caucasian woman for the first time as Miss Unity wasn't the only thing that made this year's Unity Week different - and more diverse - than it has ever been in the past.
This year, Unity Week involved more groups and minority issues than in previous years, from the Latino Student Union and Asian American Student Association to Spectrum.
This year, Unity Week was about more than just race.
Even more importantly, that inclusion proved that all these organizations can work together for the same goals.
True unity, clearly, does not come from one group bringing about awareness of its own issues. True unity is the result of all the groups on campus coming together with a common message and a common purpose.
In the wake of the shocking racist actions that occurred on campus during Fall Semester and the continued struggle Ball State community members have with understanding and accepting one another, this show of solidarity was more than symbolic: It was action. It was progress.
But progress is not fulfillment.
While this week and this pageant have evolved from a Black Student Association activity to the increasingly multicultural and open-armed series of events Ball State saw this year, there is still much progress this student body can make.
If the true goal is diversity, next year Miss Unity will involve contestants from Asian, Latino, Native American and other backgrounds, contestants of all sexual preferences and identities, those with and without disabilities - in short, women (and even men) of all kinds.
This year's progress not only shows Ball State's potential for achieving complete unity across campus, but it also encourages campus organizations to be even more cooperative in the future.
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