On Tuesday, October 31, Southwestern University celebrated its bi-annual tradition of SUnity Day, giving students the chance to flex their creative muscles by showing off projects made both in and outside the classroom. SUnity day is a campus day dedicated to cultivate on-campus bonding through events such as a poetry slam and field games; the event is combined with a research symposium. The day started with the Research & Creative Works Symposium, which allows freshman students the opportunity to showcase what they have learned in their FYS classes. These presentations covered a variety of topics ranging from sports prostheses to how masks affect cultural and tribal identity. 

All of these presentations were crowded into the Bishop’s lounge which was alight with hustle and bustle even as everyone struggled to move around early in the morning. 

After the symposium, students had the opportunity to attend several events, the first of which was directly adjacent to the Bishop’s Lounge, where the University of British Columbia’s Vice President for Students Ainsley Carry gave a presentation on: “Disputed Memorials on Campus: How Universities Respond.” 

After a morning filled with presentations and learning, students had the opportunity to unwind and bond at one of the more leisure-oriented activities on the schedule for SUnity Day. For the more artistically minded students, there was the pumpkin painting followed by the Poetry Slam.

The pumpkin painting session held in the Protho lobby was a chance for anybody brimming with Halloween spirit to show it by using paints, stencils, and stickers to decorate everyone’s favorite spooky squash. But while the pumpkin painting was overflowing with visual creativity of every stripe, those who craved a more verbal form of expression found an outlet in the poetry slam organized by the Smith Library Center.   

Many students stepped up to share works by their favorite authors, or perhaps a piece that just really struck a chord with them, many were brave enough to read works of their own, some even being inspired by others to share pieces they had never thought would see the light of day. These poems were also followed by some very unique readings, ranging from palindrome poems to the Perry The Platypus theme song. However, while the Poetry Slam was quite the treat, it wasn’t for everyone, and so students looking for a way to express their energy in a more physical manner headed over to the Robertson Center to enjoy the Pirates for Pirates Field Day. 

The field day was an afternoon of fun games and friendly competition that allowed students to show some university pride while enjoying their day off. The contests were on the silly side with two examples being cup stacking and the classic challenge of trying to eat an Oreo off your forehead without using your hands. But the field day wasn’t the only contest in the gym that day, a great number of students and faculty showed up to see whose Halloween spirit burned the brightest. The menagerie of silly and scary characters parading around the Robertson Center proved to be a wonderful celebration of community and holiday spirit, all before the sun had even set.