This year’s theme is Law: The Global Voice, with 17 groups participating, including the Black Law Students Association and the Native American Law Students Association.

Events throughout the week — most of which take place in the College of Law — include lectures regarding welfare reform and sex trafficking of Indigenous women, as well as a competition testing students’ international knowledge in Are you Smarter Than a Lawyer?

At each event, students are encouraged to donate food items. Coordinators will send them Friday to the Mid-Michigan Food Bank, 2116 Mint Road, in Lansing.

Law student Eric Berlin, president of the Jewish Legal Society, or JLS, said Diversity Week is an opportunity for his group to reach out to the MSU community.

“From our end, we get a chance to educate some other law students and show them a side of belief and culture … that maybe they haven’t been exposed to before,” he said.

Heather Johnson, law student and executive director of Triangle Bar Association, said her group is sponsoring a discussion on lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender rights.

“We don’t often think about other countries and what they’re doing and how they feel,” she said.

“This is for people to think about the state of affairs socially, (in terms of) human rights and civil rights.”

Johnson said between 60 and 100 students usually attend each event, and she hopes to see more throughout the week.

Berlin said with the practice of law becoming more diverse and varied, understanding new perspectives only can be helpful to future legal professionals.

“As lawyers in training, we can only serve to benefit and learn from various different viewpoints, cultures and religions,” he said. “We’ll be exposed to those out in practice, so I don’t think there’s any downside in learning about them (now).”