Dana Beckwith ’23 selected a piece of wood, carved with an image of a pair of hands holding the earth and a human heart. 

She squeezed a small dot of white ink onto another thin wooden board and moved a roller back and forth to spread the ink in a thin, even layer across the design. 

Then, she pressed a large piece of gray paper across the block to imprint the design, peeled the paper away and smiled. 

Beckwith was one of a number of attendees at the university’s second annual Day of Dialogue who participated in hands-on activities on the second floor of the Mandeville Hall Atrium, making their own creations in response to the day’s events. 

“I enjoy when things are hands-on because I feel like we get a better sense of it,” Beckwith said. “As much as lectures and dialogues are good, it’s only when we start using our own actions that we actually get it.”

Beckwith was at the block printing table. Other students colored student-designed pages or answered prompts on Post-it Notes, then stuck them to the walls. Students who attended the event virtually were invited to participate in online Jamboard discussions, an interactive whiteboard program that can be used to collaborate with multiple users and devices through a digital app.  

The activities at the Feb. 25 event were organized by the Creative Works subcommittee of the Day of Dialogue planning committee, according to Steven Rossi, M.F.A., member of the subcommittee and assistant professor of art. 

“Our intention was finding ways where people could reflect or do a hands-on activity that would allow people to have an interesting takeaway that could create a discussion point down the road,” Rossi said.

Rossi collaborated with Chontel Delaney, a learner experience designer for the Academic Technology and Distributed Learning (ATDL) team, and Destiny Little ’23, a member of  the Creative Works subcommittee. 

Little proposed and led the coloring and reflection activity for participants to take a break and relax in between sessions. 

“I remember the last Day of Dialogue, there was no time to take a break,” Little said. “It was just session after session, and sometimes it could be emotionally draining.”

Little said she strategically chose the images for the coloring pages—including a pair of hands holding a heart designed by Jordan Stern ’22.

“I hope that the imagery personally resonated with them and that they can share the message of caring for the whole person,” Little said. 

That is exactly what Eva Webb ’24 took away from the page she colored. 

“I did the one with the heart and the world, and I saw the inclusion part of what I learned today,” Webb said. 

At the block printing station, students were able to choose between two designs carved onto wood, and then make the print themselves using the ink, rollers and paper provided. 

Students from graphic design classes last fall helped to design the logos for the block printing activity. 

Skylar Raffensperger ’21, who designed one of the prints, said she found her inspiration from protests for social justice and the discussion-based programming of Day of Dialogue. 

“You see [the] fist a lot with protesting and social justice, so I took that idea and put it with the Day of Dialogue, as in how we speak,” Raffensperger said. “I took quotation marks and turned them into fists.” 

Beckwith said the hands-on activity helped her to visualize the message and purpose of the Day of Dialogue.

“I think it really imprints in your mind because this is the real thing, this is what is happening with our world,”  Beckwith said. “We can’t ignore it and change has to happen.”

Nenagh Sheehan ’21 contributed to this story.