MU proud of AIM

Marina Boyle, Features Editor

This past week, I have been truly in awe of how well Mercyhurst has celebrated its autistic community.

For those who don’t know, April is Autism Awareness Month.

Mercyhurst has had a series of activities over the past week to commemorate the month.

The first event was holding a session where students could get their thumbnails painted blue, which I happily attended.

The next way in which Mercyhurst celebrated Autism Awareness Month was by having the Old Main tower be lit up every night.

The color of the lighting was blue, which is also the color of Autism Awareness Month.

Saturday brought the band Rock Autism! to the Great Room. They put on a great performance.

On top of all of this, many students across Mercyhurst wore blue this week.

While seeing these events and so many others, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the diverse, energetic and dynamic autistic population we have here at Mercyhurst University.

However, more than the actual events, I was awed by the feelings expressed by fellow students.

So many people in this world hide what is different about themselves.

They end up covering anything that can make them unlike their peers, for fear of standing out.

Our students are proud to share that they are on the spectrum.

They embrace it for this whole campus to see.

The fact that they can be so open about diversity inspires me.

Our AIM program’s strength is not only admirable, it’s refreshing.

In a political climate and time period when people with different abilities are still not fully accepted, Mercyhurst has made strides.

I am so proud of all my autistic peers this month.

I will celebrate this month along with you.