Photo by Vanessa Donadio, News Assignment Editor
To advocate for themes of community, togetherness and acceptance among students on campus, St. Bonaventure held its first-ever “Comm{unity} Rally,” said organizer Nichole Gonzalez, dean of students and chair of the President’s Committee on Equity and Inclusion.
Gonzalez said that she organized this event to “gather people at the beginning of the year” and to “celebrate each other and our differences.”
Held at 3 p.m. on Friday, students and staff gathered on the lawn between Plassmann Hall and the Reilly Center.
The rally consisted of multiple different stations regarding unity, along with readings from Chattertons Poetry Society and ground-shaking performances by the SBU Dance Team and the Step Team.
At the rally, Gonzalez wanted students to “have an opportunity to talk about what they needed from [the] community, things they wanted to see, and things they wanted to stop seeing.”
One table at the rally, titled “Just Because,” had a plain cloth anyone could write on. Written on it were message from students, such as “Just because I am straight does not mean that I do not respect LGBTQIA people.”
The Clothesline Project, another station at the rally, is a nationwide project across many college campuses. This was St. Bonaventure’s first year participating in the project, but it won’t be the last. Survivors of violence, along with others, were encouraged to write positive messages on shirts and hang them on the clothesline. One shirt read “Love is love is love,” and another read “You are enough.”
There was also a display inspired by the Unity Project, with colorful poles and strings. Written on the center pole was “I am a Bonnie,” and students were welcomed to take string and connect to that pole and to other poles around it that they relate to or identify as. The other poles represent religions, countries of origins and sexualities, among other topics. The string display is still currently out on the lawn and will remain there throughout this upcoming week.
Before introducing the closing act, which was a groundbreaking performance by the Step Team, Gonzalez said she did not want students to leave the event feeling like they have done enough. Learning about different cultures and learning to be more accepting should not stop when walking away from the rally, she said. Everyone should continue to learn, grow and keep an open mind, and there is always more to understand and more conversations to have, she said.
“It was beautiful, it was unifying, and it felt like everyone was being brought together, regardless of what background they came from,” said Shannon Mitchell, a senior elementary and early childhood education major.
Students at St. Bonaventure can continue this conversation of unity through joining other clubs, such as the Muslim Students and Allies (MSA) and the Latin American Student Organization (LASO), both of which had tables at the event.
Though the rally is over, whether students stayed for the entire event or missed part of it, they are encouraged to continue this conversation, be open minded, be accepting and be a Bonnie.
By John Ancillotti, Contributing Writer
ancilljm19@bonaventure.edu
