Of all the students at Central, about 22 percent are considered to be non-traditional according to the Center for Diversity and Social Justice (CDSJ).

Non-traditional students are 25 or older, married or have a domestic partner, have children or are veterans.

On Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. the CDSJ is hosting a movie night welcoming not only non-traditional students and their families, but also any other Central student. The movie that will be shown is Disney Pixar’s “Inside Out.”

Michelle Cyrus, diversity officer for the CDSJ, believes that including all students is an important part of the movie night.

“It’s open to any and every student. Actually, we’ve been getting anywhere from  100 to  150 people coming. Sometimes we get more traditional students than non-traditional students because they just love these movies.” Cyrus said. “We do not discriminate… and that’s the same thing for our center… we want people to feel like they take ownership in Central, and that’s what we do here. We love creating an environment of inclusion.”

The movie nights are a monthly event. They provide free popcorn and other forms of entertainment to make it a more engaging experience. The CDSJ teams up with other organizations at the university in order to accomplish this.

Guests that arrive early to the event are provided with activities the CDSJ has planned for before the movie. At previous events, Central’s cosplay club has dressed as the characters from the movie and interacted with the kids.

“We provide books for the cosplay group to come in and they sign them for the kiddos and there’s an opportunity for pictures,” Cyrus said, “We usually do that at 5:30, and so for 30 minutes, they’re there, and the kiddos can have fun with them, and then at 6 p.m. the movie always starts.”

Bonny Walker, junior accounting major, has been a part of the Cosplay club for a year. Walker helps to set up the activities for the students and their families to enjoy.

“It’s just really cool to see their reactions. They really enjoy it,” Walker said.

Makayla Shepherd, senior studio art major, has also been a year-long member. She also helps organize the cosplay club’s participation for the non-traditional night and believes it is an important part of providing a way for students to communicate with one another.

“It’s a good way to mix community and school together,” Shepherd said. “We don’t ever just send  members because we want to get our club name out there, we definitely try to make sure it’s people who actually want to be there so that it’s a fun event for everyone.”

Outside of this event, the CDSJ also works with other organizations that are helpful to non-traditional students, such as workshops through the graduate studies office for students that might be interested in going to grad school. Other events such as resume workshops are also put on by CDSJ through Career Services.

The movie night is a chance for families to come and watch a movie with everyone and allows them all to be included in the activities.

According to Cyrus, this is a chance for non-traditional students and their families to get involved in campus life, in a way that is fun and entertaining.

“On our campus we have a high concentration of traditional students… for the non-traditional student population, this creates a place for them,” Cyrus said. “many of them want their families to be a part of that, and so that’s one of the ways here at Central that we’re able to do that, is by having activities and learning opportunities for this subset of the student population.”