Photo: Megan White
Thursday, April 26 was a beautiful day as students at Elizabethtown College gathered on the patio of the Baugher Student Center (BSC) to celebrate their differences.
The event was sponsored by the Residence Life Diversity Committee and was run by resident assistants (RAs) from different residence halls.
The theme of the event was oceanic, thus, it was titled the “diver-sea-ty” event.
A playlist of ocean-related music played in the background as students were encouraged to consider and discuss their identities and how those are shaped by the world around them.
One RA who helped at the event was sophomore Savannah Martinez from Royer Residence Hall.
Martinez pointed out the intentional inclusion of RAs from different buildings, so that students were able to see people they do not speak to as frequently and to build inter-building student connections.
“It’s important that the RAs are involved, to show that they do things around campus, and not just in their buildings,” Martinez said.
The event included several stations.
The first was a small ball pit, with questions taped to the balls for students to consider. This was modeled after a similar idea earlier in the year, at an interfaith event at the BSC.
At that event, students would pull a question ball, and two students who did not necessarily know each other would have to have a meaningful discussion about the question on the ball.
Another activity at the diver-sea-ty event was a bracelet making station, where students could make bracelets that they felt related to their identities. Many of the students made bracelets featuring their pride flags.
Students could win cupcakes topped with Swedish Fish candy by fishing with a magnetic makeshift fishing rod for questions related to diversity and identity printed on paper fish.
Sophomore Pleasant Sprinkle-Williams enjoyed the event but noted that most of the people who attended the event were either already outspoken members of the LGBT+ community or seemed to only stick around long enough to get free things.
Sophomore Sarah Kaden had a similar reaction.
“The events are fun but don’t address the microaggressions and homophobia seen on a daily basis on campus,” Kaden said.
Kaden expressed frustration at hearing “bros saying the f slur” and similar transgressions.
Sprinkle-Williams feels that the best way to bring about change and convince those outside of already diverse communities to listen would be a change in Core.
If students were required to take a class in women and gender studies, Sprinkle-Williams felt it could begin conversations and allow for growth.
