It may not get the same attention as Red Ribbon Week which is designed to prevent drug abuse, but this week is White Ribbon Week which tackles another issue.

“The purpose of white ribbon week is to raise awareness for different disabilities,” Best Buddies member Rylee McHenry said. “Sometimes being different and having a disability isn’t always something that’s addressed, so it’s really to raise awareness for [the cause] and normalize the conversations about disabilities.”

Some students may experience little interaction with students who have disabilities, but it’s something McHenry thinks needs more attention.

“I think there are a lot of issues in society today that are important but aren’t being spoken about,” McHenry said. “Disabilities is one of those topics because, what I always say to my best buddies chapter is that we all have disabilities because we’re obviously not all the same person so we all have things we’re not as good at and things like that. So I think it’s definitely something that should be talked about and disability week or white ribbon week is something that forces that a little bit more.”