Stretching from Brandeis dining hall to the edge of Deglman circle, students lined up for the annual Inter Residence Hall Government event, Fishing for Diversity. The event, which took place Sept. 28, brought students together in celebration of diversity on Creighton’s campus.
When students reached the front of the line they were instructed to fill a mason jar with pebbles whose colors corresponded to their gender, race, religion and other demographic identities.
Dillon Chronister, IRHG Service Faith and Justice Programs coordinator and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore said that everybody received a different collection of colors that represented them.
“Whenever you look around at everyone’s jars, everyone will have a different combination of colors to emblematically symbolize the diversity that is present on campus with regard to your race or national origin or your religious identification or your sexual identity,” said Chronister. “Whatever your demographic identity is, it’s represented in a unique way through these Mason jars.”
When students finish filling their jar with pebbles, they received a betta fish. Collen Follis, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that picking out a fish was what drew her to the event.
According to Alec Harrington, IRHG programming communications coordinator and College of Arts and Sciences sophomore, the process of selecting the colors to put in the Mason jar was the main point of Fishing for Diversity.
“We give out fish, but the reason that we’re giving out fish is to have students kind of realize what makes them different from everyone else,” said Harrington.
One of the students who participated in the event was College of Arts and Sciences junior Trent Tsuzaki. Tsuzaki said that it was a good way for students to come together to understand their unique qualities.
“So in the end the idea is to foster one’s own diversity and realize this is what makes me different from everyone else and this is what makes other people different from me,” said Harrington. “So it kind of creates that special understanding.”