Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow is hosting Conservative Awareness Week , four days of speeches and events meant to spur conservative thought on campus. The event, usually scheduled for the week of VeteransâÄô Day , was moved to this week to account for the election next Tuesday, Quinn OâÄôReilly , president of CFACT, said. âÄúWeâÄôre trying to rile up the conservative base this week,âÄù he said. Laura Gatz , former president of CFACT, founded Conservative Awareness Week in 2006 after the GLBTâÄôs National Coming Out Week. âÄúI really wanted a place that conservative students of any breed or actually anybody could come and experience what it was like to be a part of a different community, one thatâÄôs not really publicized at the U of M,âÄù Gatz said. The week was meant to give students a view of what it means to be a conservative on campus, Gatz said. While past years have featured themed days such as âÄú2nd Amendment DayâÄù and âÄúPatriotism Day,âÄù OâÄôReilly said this yearâÄôs events have been geared more toward more moderate students. This year, that has meant involvement in MondayâÄôs State House District 59B debate, showing a film about environmentalism and hosting conservative author Dinesh DâÄôSouza for a speech Wednesday night. DâÄôSouza, who spoke on Christianity, Islam and the War on Terror , said the concept of Conservative Awareness Week serves many purposes for conservative students. âÄúI think part of the purpose of these events is to build the intellectual confidence of the conservative students,âÄù he said. âÄúBut itâÄôs also to engage the activists on the left and to persuade students who are in the middle.âÄù DâÄôSouza said he finds conservatives to be in the minority on most campuses. âÄúWhich is easier to declare yourself at the University of Minnesota; is it easier to come out as a conservative or is it easier to come out as a homosexual?âÄù he said. âÄúWhich will put you in a more awkward position within the community?âÄù Justin Henry , president of U-DFL , called the comment, âÄúabsurd.âÄù âÄúThere are plenty of conservatives on campus,âÄù Henry said. âÄúThe Republican group is a big group on campus. There is no one thatâÄôs really going to persecute you for being a Republican too much here at the University.âÄù Nico Cruz , co-chair of the Queer Student Cultural Center , didnâÄôt find the comparison offensive. âÄúI think it might be more awkward to come out as a conservative,âÄù Cruz said. âÄúIt would be twice as awkward if you were also homosexual âĦ I can understand why some people might take it offensively but I personally donâÄôt think thereâÄôs anything wrong with it.âÄù Gatz said the intent of Conservative Awareness Week wasnâÄôt meant to be a backlash against other groups on campus. âÄúImitation is one of the highest forms of flattery,âÄù she said.