Under the guidance of Instructional Aide Briana Walker, Cats for Unity plans to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month again this year. According to Walker, in October the club will host events such as a Hispanic themed bake sale and food festival to celebrate the Hispanic culture.

Cats for Unity, a club meant to celebrate and promote diversity within and around Westerville South was created last year by Assistant Principal Taylor Porter.

Porter said, “The key to the club is celebrating the things that make each and every individual unique.”

 The main goals of this club are not only celebrating and promoting diversity, but also taking away any stigma that is carried along with different races, genders, sexual orientations, and or religions. To promote peace, love, and unity is another vital component of Cats For Unity, according to Porter.

Some  events that were celebrated last year include Women’s Rights Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Cancer Awareness Month. All of these events helped bridge the gap between otherwise diverse groups of people by giving them a chance to celebrate their similarities and forget their differences, Porter said.

Porter was inspired to create Cats For Unity from another group he’d been apart of  before he became a Wildcat; at his previous school, he lead a group called Social Justice Club. When Porter came to Westerville South, he was struck by the diversity and the myriad of cultures within the student body. Porter swiftly put a plan in action to highlight the things that make the student body unique and show how they also make them the same, thus Cats For Unity.

Yet Porter said,  “The students are the backbone of Cats For Unity.” The students are the creative masterminds when it comes to planning for the themes and ways to advertise and promote the upcoming events. Last year, the school had display cases showcasing different themes or ideas throughout the year.

With many celebrations that will occur this year, the central themes of Cats For Unity itself are: love,positivity, and unity.  Porter said, “With a group like this, the hopes are that we can all come together and celebrate what makes us different and realize that we are more alike than we think.”