February's Global Neighborhood House Dinner connected students, staff and faculty through sharing stories and experiences of transition, belonging and their Elon experience.
Students from the Global Neighborhood gathered on Feb. 7 with staff, faculty, and employees from across campus to make connections through storytelling in a “Dinner Across Difference: Bridging Communities Through Storytelling.”
Related to the Global Neighborhood’s theme, “Migration: Movement, Transition, and Community Change,” Jennifer Eidum Zinchuk, faculty director of Global Neighborhood, prompted the group to discuss their path to Elon, their transition into the community and the connections they’ve made while being a student or while working at Elon.
The format was based on “The People’s Supper” in which the aim is to “repair the breach in our interpersonal relationships across political, ideological, and identity differences, leading to more civil discourse” over the most universal of activities — eating.
The February Global Neighborhood House Dinner was hosted in the Lakeside meeting rooms, featuring catered cuisine inspired by Belgium and Portugal and included about 60 total attendees.
Environmental services workers, physical plant employees and faculty connected to the Global Neighborhood along with other staff all shared a table with students to talk and learn about each other’s experiences. Conversations included talk about people’s “networks,” including their families, friends, co-workers and community members and the importance of having a support system in any situation or transition you find yourself in.
Dinner guests discussed the assets they brought to the Elon community and how their relationship with the university is often mutually beneficial. Elon benefits from skills that its members have and individuals benefit from the family-like community that Elon provides. The idea of belonging was also talked about and how there have been times when some felt like they didn’t belong, but also the many times where they found they do in fact belong amongst peers, classmates, and staff and faculty.
The dinner was hosted by the Global Neighborhood Association. The next Global Neighborhood House Dinner will be on Tuesday, March 6 from 5:45 to 7 p.m.