SRWC hosts Respect Week

An SRWC employee demonstrates martial arts techniques on the first day of the Respect Week event. Photo by Joseph Apodaca

When students head to the gym, they go to open up their bodies and expand on their physical fitness—this week however, the Student Recreation and Wellness Center called upon students to open up their minds.

During the week of April 25 thru April 28, the SRWC at Cal State Long Beach hosted Respect Week, an event dedicated to celebrating CSULB’s diverse population and acknowledging traits such as culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and disabilities that make each person special. The event was a first for the SRWC, combining positive messages with fitness instructions, free food, and summer membership raffles. With so many different people coming through the doors of the SRWC on a daily basis, choosing the location was an obvious one to students in attendance.

“Coming to the gym, a lot of people come here so it’s a hugely diverse place and also different people with different body types come to the gym, so that has a lot to do with respect,” said Sarah Admani, a senior Electrical Engineering student and a member of the Muslim Student Association, a club who spoke to students at the event. “This club means a lot to me because there are a lot of misconceptions about Islam. People think that Islam is all about terrorists and its not, so we hope that people will have more of an open mind about it.”

Respect Week featured different speeches throughout
the week, each one focusing on a different aspect of respect.
Photo by Joseph Apodaca

Respect Week called upon students to become active for the chance of winning a free summer membership. Daily demonstrations took place throughout the week, including martial arts, yoga and Tai Chi. Students who attended were also treated to free Respect Week t-shirts and lunch that included a Super Mex catering truck among others. Free amenities and demonstrations aside, the event’s message was one students could relate to and without a doubt opened up the minds of many to be more respectful towards to people around them, even the ones they hardly know.

“Respect is something that we need in our lives to be, in a sense, healthy,” said CSULB student Allison Rojas. “When someone gives you respect, you feel good about yourself just like a person feels good after going to the gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I think that whether a person is at the gym to work out their frustration or simply working out to keep a healthy lifestyle, the gym is able to bring all kinds of people together because they are motivated. Having respect for people we hardly know goes along with the golden rule. We must treat others how we want to be treated. One never knows when we might run across the same person later on in life.”