270 STUDENT ASSOCIATION The Student Association starts conversations during the 2020-21 school year. In fall 2020, Harding University’s Student Association (SA) announced “Conversation” as the theme of the school year. The theme’s objective was to understand others through intentional conversation. “Conversation is something very important for human beings,” International Committee Representative senior Keneth Chelelgo said. “Getting to go through the cultural differences and getting to understand other people is tied down to having conversations, and the SA has been motivating people trying to talk about it, engaging conversation in order to prevent misconceptions about other people.” Because social distancing and masks changed the nature of conversation in 2020, the SA decided it was even more crucial for the year. “Conversation has been vital this school year, considering all of the wild and difficult things we have all had to struggle through,” Sophomore Female Representative Grace Winfree said. “From the coronavirus to a presidential election to race relations, we need to be talking about these issues together because that will be our only way to get through them. Some of these things were hard to talk about, but creating conversation made an outlet for those necessary discussions to occur.” SA President senior Morgan Proffitt believed social distancing and masks forced students to be more intentional with their conversations. She noted that while it may be an opportunity to be surface-level during conversations, it took more effort to talk to someone through a mask six feet away. Students were asked to choose intentionality in relationships and in conversations. “I believe that making conversation is one of the best ways to create relationships and change,” Proffitt said. “While it might be easy to check out and choose to be far from the heart of campus, I want to encourage you to recognize that you, as students, are the heart of campus.” Proffitt added that she believed real change could come from more intentional conversations, even behind a mask. “I pray we can recognize the blessing and opportunity it is to to be with the people we love, even if not in in the way most ideal to us,” Proffitt said. story by Ellie Shelton ConversatioN S tatio N
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