2008 Woodie Awards
One year later, students and faculty gather on steps of Dana to reflect
Jake Blumgart
Issue date: 2/1/08 Section: Features
On Wednesday Jan. 23, a small group of students and faculty quietly gathered on the steps of Dana Auditorium to reflect on the one-year anniversary of the Bryan incident, and the fractured community left in its wake. The organizers timed the meeting to mirror a similar event on the Dana steps exactly one year ago.
"A year ago we were gathered here on the steps of Dana Auditorium, with 300-plus others, seeking solace in community," said Max Carter, campus ministry coordinator, at the beginning of the meeting. "That time (a great many of us), representing a cross-section of our campus, came together in a very special way that has not been duplicated since. Now we are back here again to ponder both lessons learned and unlearned."
Scott Pierce Coleman, director of Quaker Leadership Scholars Program (QLSP), planned this year's meeting. Although QLSP did not officially endorse the event, most of the approximately 30 attendees were QLSP members.
"It was hard to walk up to Dana and see the pathetic number of people there, particularly in comparison to last year's gathering," said Billie Pellerito, senior lacrosse player. "The Bryan incident affected me severely, so I was pretty disappointed by the number of people at Dana. People wanted to ignore it. The immediate effects are over, and now people don't want to talk about it, even though these problems aren't fixed."
The original QLSP-organized meeting on the steps of Dana came three days after the Jan. 20, 2007 Bryan incident. QLSP designed the meeting to give Guilford students, faculty and staff a way to respond and express common concerns as a community. The Quaker silent-worship format of the event ensured that it would be non-confrontational.
It was the best-attended event responding to the Bryan incident, drawing professors, coaches, athletes, Palestinians, and almost every other major on-campus constituency.
"The first Dana meeting was the single greatest show of campus unity that I know of," said senior Carl Farlow, a lacrosse player and member of QLSP, at the Jan. 7 college meeting for worship. "It was one of my most spiritual moments at Guilford. (But after that) Guilford students decided they didn't need the Quaker values. For those of us wearing Guilford athletics clothing, that anger was more than palpable."
"A year ago we were gathered here on the steps of Dana Auditorium, with 300-plus others, seeking solace in community," said Max Carter, campus ministry coordinator, at the beginning of the meeting. "That time (a great many of us), representing a cross-section of our campus, came together in a very special way that has not been duplicated since. Now we are back here again to ponder both lessons learned and unlearned."
Scott Pierce Coleman, director of Quaker Leadership Scholars Program (QLSP), planned this year's meeting. Although QLSP did not officially endorse the event, most of the approximately 30 attendees were QLSP members.
"It was hard to walk up to Dana and see the pathetic number of people there, particularly in comparison to last year's gathering," said Billie Pellerito, senior lacrosse player. "The Bryan incident affected me severely, so I was pretty disappointed by the number of people at Dana. People wanted to ignore it. The immediate effects are over, and now people don't want to talk about it, even though these problems aren't fixed."
The original QLSP-organized meeting on the steps of Dana came three days after the Jan. 20, 2007 Bryan incident. QLSP designed the meeting to give Guilford students, faculty and staff a way to respond and express common concerns as a community. The Quaker silent-worship format of the event ensured that it would be non-confrontational.
It was the best-attended event responding to the Bryan incident, drawing professors, coaches, athletes, Palestinians, and almost every other major on-campus constituency.
"The first Dana meeting was the single greatest show of campus unity that I know of," said senior Carl Farlow, a lacrosse player and member of QLSP, at the Jan. 7 college meeting for worship. "It was one of my most spiritual moments at Guilford. (But after that) Guilford students decided they didn't need the Quaker values. For those of us wearing Guilford athletics clothing, that anger was more than palpable."
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