By Keyton Tipple, Avery Williams and Chase Mathers
Last Tuesday, Indiana Wesleyan University paused classes to hold the annual Day of Common Learning, bringing together students and faculty to hear new research, personal testimonies and a panel of speakers all around the topic of mental health.
Indiana Wesleyan put classes on hold as students and faculty came together the following afternoon to hear about research conducted by Dr. Erin Devers, testimonies from faculty and students, and a panel of speakers.
Professor Brian Maxwell, the dean of arts and humanities, says the academic calendar sets aside certain Tuesdays and Thursdays for study days and for common days of learning.
“This was a day, and in the spring, they have the learning day, or whatever that is, a celebration and scholarship day. So this is one of those days,” Maxwell said. “And the idea of having a day of common learning, a day when the entire campus kind of quiets down, slows down, comes together, and has a conversation about a shared topic.”
The Day of Common Learning has been implemented in the academic calendar for several years now. Dr. Maxwell said that it had been in place since before he came to Indiana Wesleyan nearly eight years ago.
However, the Day of Common Learning has changed over the years. It’s been known as the Day of Courageous Conversations, and recently it’s been labelled the “Isaiah 1:17 Day”. The topic itself has changed from food scarcity and security to something else.
“It used to be [the] Day of Courageous Conversations, but then it switched… and last year it was on food scarcity. And so they pretty much choose something that, as they feel, would resonate with the whole campus and everything,” Jamon Spikings, an IGO intercultural ambassador, said.
“They rerouted it to make it more open, because courageous conversations, they chose deeper topics and everything. So I think they wanted something more that could resonate with more of the campus,” Spikings said.
As the Day of Common Learning has evolved over the years, one thing has remained constant. Its impact on this campus, not just with the students, but with the faculty.
“It has a positive impact on our campus. Every time we can discuss something that has historically been pushed to the fringes and bring it to the forefront, it is good. It’s good to engage in hard conversations and to help people realize that they’re not alone,” Hannah Miller, associate athletics director for internal operations, said.
“It builds trust, too, for people to know this is a subject we are willing to engage in. We want to walk with students as they go through things, we want to equip them, not just to survive but to set them up for success,” Miller said.
