The Creighton Students Union Program Board hosted its “CU Speaks: Let’s Talk About Loneliness” event in the Skutt Student Center on Monday, April 14.  

According to the Program Board, CU Speaks is “a space for students, faculty and staff to come together to talk about topics that matter.” At this event, students discussed how loneliness is a major issue affecting college students. 

CU Speaks takes place every semester. This event is rooted in the Jesuit value “Cura Personalis,” which means taking care of the entire person. College of Arts and Sciences freshman Taylor Roetto plans these events that are meant to promote impactful conversation and connection.  

“My role focuses on creating values-based programming that engages students in meaningful dialogue, whether through CU Speaks or similar initiatives,” Roetto said. 

To plan the event, Roetto worked with Faith Kurtyka, Ph.D., the associate director of the Magis Core Curriculum. After brainstorming discussion prompts, she came up with the activity ideas. Kurtyka then collaborated with Program Board members to help the event come together. 

“Many students experience feelings of isolation, even in a busy campus environment. I’ve had moments like that myself, and I felt it was important to create a space where students could reflect on these experiences and feel a greater sense of connection and support,” Roetto said.  

Kurtyka teaches a Critical Issues class on creating community.  

“I’m always excited about an opportunity to speak to students outside of class, because I think that co-curricular events are important spaces of open and honest learning,” Kurtyka said.  

The event consisted of various discussions and activities. The first discussion asked participants when they felt the most connected at Creighton. After small and large group discussions, the attendees started their first activity. 

The first activity was a connection wall. “Loneliness feels like…,” “I feel most connected when…” and “A reminder I needed to hear recently was…” were the prompts given to students. They wrote down their answers to these prompts on sticky notes and then stuck them onto poster boards with the corresponding prompt on the top. Then students shared the responses out loud. 

The second discussion asked what obstacles exist in forming purposeful connections in college and why there is stigma around being dependent on other people.  

The second activity asked the attendees to fill out a survey about their own personal experiences with loneliness.  

The third discussion asked what the Creighton community could do to combat loneliness.  

Following the event, Roetto sent out helpful resources to all of the attendees. These resources included how to get in contact with Student Counseling Services, the Student Leadership & Involvement Center, the Success Center, the Schlegel Center for Service and Justice and Campus Ministry. These resources were provided for people who may be looking for academic support, career support, extracurriculars or personal guidance.  

Program Board will continue to have CU Speaks events in the future.  

“This type of programming addresses an important need by providing students with space to pause, reflect and engage in thoughtful conversation,” Roetto said.