One Mizzou Week (began Monday) and I wanted to personally invite The Maneater staff to participate in the Week’s experiences.

On May 7th of this year, your staff posted [“Biggest disappointment: One Mizzou Week](https://www.themaneater.com/stories/2014/5/7/biggest-disappointment-one-mizzou-week/), and I felt encouraged moving on into the third year of the week. I heard what you were saying, and I became reminded of exactly why One Mizzou Week exists (for the rest of this letter I’ll refer to the week as “OMW”… let’s keep this simple).

I was a sophomore during the first OMW. I was the junior chairman of the MSA/GPC Speakers committee and transitioned to senior chairman during the Maya Angelou event. I agree, she was the perfect kickoff to something that had so much potential. And we should remember that potential relies on anticipated action. If year one was successful, it was because the student body participated and took action in creating an inclusive campus community.

Your editorial said last year’s OMW showed students that diversity needs to be sought out instead of being celebrated by everyone. I agree with you, diversity _should_ be celebrated by everyone, but that can only happen when everyone makes the decision to seek out education and awareness.

Success in something like this can’t come from the top down. If you want “community,” you have to make it. If you want acceptance, you have to educate yourselves. This can’t be handed to our campus; we have to get down in the dirt and build it ourselves.

Maneater staff, please come out and help spread the word so that more students will see the importance of One Mizzou. It’s the only way we will begin to change anything.

Thank you,

— _Cale Sears, calesears@missouri.edu,
One Mizzou Week Chair and MSA/GPC Speakers Committee senior chair​_