In light of the recent discriminatory issues regarding minorities, Georgia Southern University’s National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) is hosting the Lift Every Voice Silent March this Saturday at the Rotunda.

The Silent March is part of NPHC Week 2016, which its’ “Stay Woke” theme is geared to educate and inform the GS campus on injustices that many people receive on a daily basis.

Co-host and event coordinator Aja Blair explains what prompted NPHC to take on the controversial topic of discrimination.

“There is no better time for change than the present. We are not just speaking on a racial stand point. It initially started off as a Black Lives Matter movement, but through discussion with others about what I wanted to see happening, I realized that only people that look like me would be there,” Blair said. “If we wanted to get somewhere with this platform, we needed to take on something different.”

The event will start with a silent march from the Rotunda to the RAC, where participates are encouraged to stay silent to prompt those to want to wait and listen to what the marchers are trying to say. At the end of the march, there will be speakers from the Gay Straight Alliance and a speaker on disabilities that will speak on the ongoing issue of discrimination amongst their community.

Nicholas Hayes, co-host and event coordinator, believes that this event will be a continuance to promote discussion on discrimination and prompt creating solutions to issues.

“We overall are trying to get people to be open minded and absorb new knowledge so they will at least have the ability to create change in their community,” Hayes said. “We know that this event will not be the end all, be all. It’s not going to change everything that is happening right now, but we are hoping that it will get people to understand and pay attention to what is happening around the world.”

GS students are excited for the knowledge the Silent March will bring to them.

“In my opinion with race and discrimination issues, we are the ones that created them. We wouldn’t have these issues if we would just stop and really look and pay attention to the problems that are out in the world instead of ignoring them and acting like they are not there,” Myra Livingston, junior computer science major, said.

Livingston believes that the current issues are created by people and the lack of willing to communicate.

“If we stop and look around and actually communicate with each other, we could create faster solutions to our issues. I think that this event is a great way to getting that message across to others,” Livingston said.

The event is also prompting students to educate themselves on the many uncomfortable issues around the world.

Sophomore biology major Destiny Ettaing believes that students should partake in the march to understand discriminatory issues that they are not aware of.

Ettaing said, “I feel like it’s important for students to partake in events like this because there are many people who have no idea what is going on or are not well educated in many topics. Also with this event, you are also around people who might share similar issues that you may be facing. So it’s a great way for people to come together as one.”

For more information on NPHC week or upcoming events, follow them on their instagram page @gsu_nphc or twitter page @GASouthern_NPHC.

This article was corrected on Sept. 23 to remove an incorrect reference to the Student Disability Resource Center. A speaker on disabilities at the event will not be representing the center. The George-Anne regrets this mistake.