Many events will happen around campus this week acknowledging International Education Week.

International Education Week, held Nov. 14 to 18, is celebrated on campuses throughout the nation and sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education.

Deborah Pierce, executive director of the Division of International Programs, said the goal of NIU’s International Education Week is to raise awareness of international perspectives in the NIU community.

Douglas Hall International House helps put together activities for International Education Week. Pierce said the International House makes the events being thrown this week more visible to NIU students. She also said the International House will focus most of the attention on racism this year.

The International House wants students to attend events to become more aware of racism in our society, said Rochelle Taylor, a senior marketing major and community advisor of the fifth floor in the Douglas Hall International House B wing.

“The programs try to persuade students to speak up about their views on racism,” Taylor stated.

The first event will be held today from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A faculty panel will discuss “Ethnicity, Gender, and Class: The Role of Social Movements in Promoting Justice and Peace” in the Holmes Student Center’s Sky Room.

The International House will hold an International Expo from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Douglas C-D cafeteria. Taylor said they hope this event will make people aware of some different aspects of the International House and the programs offered.

There will be a study abroad reunion for all students who studied abroad, held between 3 to 5 p.m. in the study abroad office, Williston Hall Room 417.

“We in the U.S share this planet with a whole huge variety of folks,” Pierce said. “We all are neighbors and International Education Week is a way to learn something about those neighbors right here in DeKalb.”