Ally Week is upon us once again. No doubt sophomores will still remember last year’s Ally Week events which received an overwhelmingly positive response. For freshmen however, who may not be aware of the concept Ally Week consists of a week’s worth of events that show support of any minorities or marginalized group, whether it be related to sexuality, race, religion, or other social aspects. Last year, the Ally Week events were put together by the Queer and Ally (Q&A) Society; this year however, they are being planned by a committee in collaboration with several clubs at NYU Shanghai. For NYU Shanghai student Claire Shapira, Co-Chair of the Ally Week Committee and President of Q&A society, Ally Week is a chance to “show that as a community we are welcoming to everyone regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, etc, etc. The name comes from the idea that you want to be an Ally to someone. For example, I might not be gay but I want to be an Ally to the gay community. I want to be an ally to the trans community. But it’s a lot more than just LGBTQ issues, it’s also goes on to dealing with race and other things as previously mentioned. I think what it means to be an ally is different for everyone based on their personal experiences. To me being an ally means not being afraid to speak up when you see something going on that you know is wrong or hurtful.” With both more students and more clubs to contribute, Ally Week this year promises to be bigger and better than last year. Ally Week is a chance for NYU Shanghai community members to communicate not just with each other but also will our peers across the Global Network. Ally Week originated from the New York campus, where it is already a very established tradition and is often used for inspiration for the events at Shanghai. Claire notes, “there’s a similar theme amongst the various events and obviously we try very hard to learn from what NYU has done and take it to make something that’s just as good here.” But Ally Week doesn’t just connect NYU New York and NYU Shanghai; Claire hopes it will be a connection and will foster conversation across the Global Network as the NYU Shanghai sophomore class leaves to study away next year: “the current Ally Week Community has a really good mix of freshmen and sophomores. When the sophomores go to study abroad next year, I have complete faith that the people who will be here will take the project and run with it and make it even better. And when we come back from studying away, we’ll have more experience to bring to the conversation because Ally Week is a conversation among the whole NYU Shanghai community and NYU global community.” This year, Ally Week will kick off with an opening picnic several fun events planned throughout the week and a closing Gala. Claire and the entire Ally Week team really encourage everyone to stop by at least one event: “At a school with 10,000 people you might be able to just surround yourself with everyone who’s just like you but because NYU Shanghai is so small, you get the chance to meet and intimately interact with a diverse group of people and discuss the issues that we’re facing. It’s very easy to meet someone who defies your expectations and you have an opportunity to talk to them and be like "Oh they’re another person just like me" and when it comes down to it, we’re all just people.” So during this Ally Week, let’s have fun, let’s talk and foster constructive conversation, and let’s be here for each other. Here’s hoping the NYU Shanghai community will be closer than ever. This article was written by Rae Dehal. Send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Nicole Chan