With free pancakes, coffee, succulents, music and candy-grams, dozens of Point Loma Nazarene University students gathered at Wiley and Finch Hall to engage in community with friends and neighbors.
On Feb. 15 from 1–2:30 p.m., resident assistants and directors collaborated to host the event “Stacked With Love,” the first time the all-men’s and all-women’s halls partnered to create a Valentine’s-themed gathering.
Austin Holmes, a PLNU alumnus and RD of Wiley Hall, said the event was previously hosted solely by Finch Hall. This year, Holmes wanted to partner with them to provide additional budget support and volunteers, hoping to expand the event’s turnout and campus impact.
“Finch and Wiley have had a long history of collaborating together for events … [and] it has been noted from our residents that they love opportunities to be in the same space together,” Holmes said in an email interview.
Gabe Garcia, a third-year commercial music production major and RA in Wiley, said the team hoped the event would create opportunities for people to gather around Valentine’s Day.
“I feel like Wiley and Finch are very separated, so anytime that we can get a chance to mix the two [is good],” Garcia said.
During the event, Wiley RAs cooked breakfast meats while Finch RAs made pancakes, with succulent-making and candy-gram stations set up between halls.
Otto Rogers, a third-year psychology major and Wiley resident, said the event exceeded his expectations as he was able to connect with new people from both residence halls.
“It was exciting to be able to talk to all the RAs,” Rogers said. “They were super nice, super joyful to be there and cook for us. One of the settings at Finch was the crafts table, and I got to make my roommate a craft [which] he really enjoyed.”
Holmes said the goal of the event was to bring together residents from both halls, allowing them to engage in new conversations and experiences with each other.
“Events like this have the opportunity to normalize stepping out of your comfort zone and into new experiences,” Holmes said. “The activities that we had encourage[d] residents to try something new or to do something they have already done, but maybe with a particular part of the community they aren’t used to socializing with.”
Weeks before, the Wiley and Finch leadership teams met twice to discuss logistics, including food and activities, planning, shopping and organizing supplies for the event. By hosting an event together last semester, the Wiley and Finch leaders were able to connect and grow in their relationship before hosting “Stacked With Love.”
“We all knew each other,” Garcia said. “It felt like just bringing another part of our team in. It didn’t feel like anybody was excluded [and] it ran very smoothly.”
Holmes said the hard work and dedication of each hall’s resident assistants are integral to creating successful campus events.
“Our RAs are the engine of our events,” Holmes said. “Without their teamwork and dedication to facilitate conversations with residents and maintain the event, our programming would not be great and maybe non-existent.”
Garcia and Rogers both felt that the event was successful in fostering community and bringing together students who may not have known each other before.
“I think people are kind of stuck in their routine of doing the same stuff over and over every day, and so there’s not a lot of opportunity for residents to meet new people,” Garcia said. “Especially on a day like Sunday where there’s no classes, [the event helped] people meet that wouldn’t have met if they were just going about their regular days.”
Rianna Nowlin, a fourth-year Christian studies major and Finch RA, said the event went “above and beyond” her expectations.
“Sometimes people don’t even know the people that live right next to them, but things like events give opportunity to just chat, slow down for a second [and] meet someone new,” Nowlin said. “I met a lot of people I’d never really talked to before.”
Holmes said both the Finch and Wiley teams were happy with the new connections they created through the collaborative event.
“It’s easy to stay within your own circles, but it’s always inspiring and rewarding to watch people that don’t know each other connect,” Holmes said.
