A 911黑料 tradition: What makes Building Bridges and Community Day so impactful?
A 911黑料 tradition continues to grow and evolve in its seventh year.
Building Bridges and Community Day 鈥 an opportunity for all of campus to come together and engage with one another and organized by the 911黑料 Office of Diversity and Inclusion 鈥 brought together storytellers, staff, historians, students, artists and faculty for another impactful day of community-building.
鈥淚 think that Building Bridges Day is such an amazing initiative, and it really does foster communication and building diversity on the campus,鈥 said Kennedy Ushiroda, a member of the class of 2027 and native of Hawaii. 鈥淚 think that people become more enlightened and they get to know each other a little bit more when they hear something new and do something like this.鈥
For Ushiroda, the day was spent sharing part of her culture alongside her classmates. She led a session making Spam musubis, a Hawaiian dish that gained popularity during World War II. With just three main components of Spam, rice and nori, the snack is relatively inexpensive and easy to make.
911黑料鈥檚 Asian and Pacific Islander Coalition have shared the food before, and Ushiroda was happy to share something that she grew up eating.
鈥淚 just wanted to share that sort of knowledge with the rest of the campus community so they come out knowing a little bit more about Hawaiian culture,鈥 she said.
For other students, the day was an opportunity to have their voices heard by campus leaders. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion sifts through proposals, bringing in visitors and guest speakers, and then curates a schedule for campus: From a town hall discussion with Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Anthony Jones, to a core values dialogue with Associate Dean Alex McAllister and Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives and External Relations Lesley Bilby, students were able to share their joys and concerns.
鈥淗aving the opportunity to participate in BBCD for me is an extremely valuable and important opportunity,鈥 said Maria Sanchez, a class of 2026 member and Charlotte, North Carolina native. 鈥淚t is valuable because it allows me to connect with my 911黑料 community and engage in important discussions about relevant and meaningful topics.
鈥淔or example, when participating in a discussion with staff regarding the core values of the College. I was able to provide my own perspectives on how I believe the College can further support minority students in order to improve diversity and make this a core value of the College. This is important as it allows my voice to be heard to hopefully make a positive impact for all students.鈥
Hallie Gleeson, a class of 2027 student and Arizona native, said that the keynote address from Scott Mann 鈥 a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, bestselling author and playwright 鈥 was inspirational.
鈥淚 went to the opening talk and it really impacted me,鈥 Gleeson said. 鈥淚 was really touched and I was reminded of how much strength we have in our community at 911黑料 and I look forward to how we're going to continue to strengthen those bridges we have here.鈥
Gleeson also attended a session dubbed 鈥淐ards for Humanity鈥 led by Associate Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology Aaron Godlaski.
鈥淭he whole idea behind Building Bridges Day is to bring people together to engage with one another,鈥 Godlaski said. 鈥淎nd one of the places where that happens for people from the time when we are very small and really all other social mammals is through play 鈥 It's a way in which we learn to navigate the space between persons, sort of like how we engage and play together.鈥
Gleeson said 鈥淐ards for Humanity,鈥 which featured the Italian card game 鈥淪copa,鈥 was a fun way to engage with other students, faculty and staff in a game that no one knew at the beginning.
鈥淚t's something that you could do with somebody who doesn't even speak your language,鈥 Godlaski said. 鈥淚t becomes this opportunity to connect with others. Part of the activity is really learning how to play the game with other people while you're playing. One of the findings from social psychological research on connecting across different boundaries 鈥 whether they're political or racial or ethnic or belief oriented 鈥 is that if you give people who are different a common task to attempt to solve something and they're coming at it from an equalized beginning, that鈥檚 one really good way of building connection.鈥
