This week marks Notre Dame’s Multicultural Community Week, sponsored by the Multicultural Student Programs and Services (MSPS), and this year’s theme is “The Unity Games.” Participants will be split into teams that will compete against each other in challenges throughout the course of this week, ultimately competing for the grand prize of 100 Domer Dollars for each team member, according to the games’ website.
Katherine Hernandez, a freshman pre-medical student who signed up to participate in the games, said she saw the event as an opportunity to connect with other students on campus.
“I joined because it seemed like a good way to meet some new people and, of course, the possibility of winning 100 Domer Dollars.”
Events will include Family Feud, social media contests, trivia, games, an open skate and a sports day. All of these events are intended to expose the participants to different cultures and religions. Teams will receive points based on both their participation and their performance.
The Unity Games kicked off Sunday with the opening ceremonies.
“The opening ceremony, despite the fact that not many people showed up, turned out to be really fun,” Hernandez said. “It was a great way to meet your team members and start working as a team playing the games. I’d say about 20 people showed up.”
The eight teams, or districts, will be awarded points based on their level of participation in each event. Each team has six or seven people, Hernandez said. The rankings will be updated daily and can be found on their website.
The district with the most points at the end of the week will win the grand prize of 100 Domer Dollars per person, which will be awarded Sunday during the closing ceremonies. Other individual prizes that will be raffled off during the ceremony as well, according to the website.
There will be a separate prize for the winning team of the Family Feud event: an invitation to a free dinner from the Ruth Chris Steakhouse.
The idea for the Unity Games comes from the popular young adult franchise ‘The Hunger Games,’ in which districts send children to fight to the death. The Unity Games is inverting this to encourage teamwork and unity, not discord, amongst the participants and the Notre Dame community as a whole.
“‘The Unity Games’ is a week of fun and exciting events to encourage teamwork and unity among the multicultural community at Notre Dame,” according to the Unity Games’ website.
Students are invited to serve as spectators for the events. A schedule with times and locations can be found on their website, theunitygames.squarespace.com
