For the students of Elizabethtown College, there has been a small gathering every week on Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. that encourages students to open up and talk about things that may have been emotionally difficult. Every week, students gather in the Bird Cage Game Room, located in the Baugher Student Center, and they sit together and talk while coloring.
One may believe that coloring is for children and that being a college student, it may seem silly to take an hour out of your day to sit down and color. Deputy Title IX Coordinator Gabrielle Reed disagrees. During the spring semester of 2022, Reed came up with the idea to encourage students of all years to color for an hour one day a week while simultaneously talking to one another.
This has been deemed quite a success as students are now showing up weekly to sit down with Reed and color. Reed found that with such a long and intimidating title, students might have difficulty admitting the problems they have in an intense setting.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs. Etown follows this very strictly and is committed to working to make sure the College is a safe place and is able to work with its students in order to keep it that way. It is Reed’s job to make sure students understand that they are heard and that they are able to talk about what they are going through without any shame.
Reed set out to find something that will help students open up while being relaxed. The setting was very comfortable, and Reed made it easy to talk. She asks questions and makes sure the students are engaging. Most of the time, it was small talk, but even then, it was easy to talk to her and the coloring only helped with the relaxation. “I wanted to come up with something that didn’t come off as scary,” Reed explained. “And what’s more relaxing than coloring?”
Due to the topic of Title IX being so intimidating, students tend to stray away from the topic or area all around. This way, students can engage in something as simple and easy as coloring while simultaneously talking about something that’s bothering them or about their day.
A few students have been coming enough that Reed knows them the moment they walk into the room, proving that her system works and helps students, no matter how small. “People can come whenever they want,” Reed says. “I wanted to make people feel more comfortable talking without the Title IX being right there.”
Reed was very attentive and made the students feel comfortable enough to chat with her all the while coloring. Coloring while speaking with someone unknown to you is a way to ease your mind and help you open up and feel comfortable enough to talk about your day.
At one point, Reed asked if coloring made the attendees feel calm. She included that she’s asked several other students this question, and while most of the time, the answer is yes, there are a few that find it a bit frustrating when trying to color inside the lines or even picking a picture to color.
However, they do not only use coloring as a technique to get students to open up. They also have several events such as pumpkin painting and making flower pots as a way to help students relax. These kinds of activities are taking place in the Bird Cage Game Room every Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. until the end of November.
