Marquette’s Residence Hall Association’s annual “Greater Than One” event is tonight at 7 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium, aiming to bring people together from the Marquette community to spark an open dialogue.
Alex Pletcher, a senior in the College of Engineering, is one of the event’s organizers.
“This year’s (theme) is ‘The Journey to Self,’ which is how someone comes to terms with who they are, and their journey that brought them back,” Pletcher said. “The main point is an understanding that this is where we’re at in life, this is who you are and how you can become fully who you are in society.”
The event mixes professional speakers and advocates with student interaction and feedback to bring important conversations to the spotlight.
The main speakers at the event include Bernardo Avila-Borunda, who works with multicultural ministry, Hunter D’Acquisto, an RHA representative and freshman in the College of Health Sciences and Sonia Escamilla, a graduate student in the College of Education. Their talks will cover subjects like prison reform and LGBTQ rights. Speakers from this past weekend’s “Milwaukee 53206” film screening by Marquette University Student Government at the Varsity Theatre — Beverly and Baron Walker — will also be at the event talking about their own journeys and struggles.
“(Greater Than One) gives people who are struggling with things and feel they’re all alone a place to remind them that they’re not alone and shows them that they are in a community that they can help make greater than just who they are,” said Austin Larson, a freshman in the Opus College of Engineering and member of RHA. “It needs to be talked about.”
The talks aim to get event attendees talking.
“It’s an open dialogue, and we encourage questions at the end,” Pletcher said.
Pletcher said RHA encourages attendance and participation because of how important these conversations are.
“This is open to everybody. There’s no cost, it’s just people speaking out on how they feel, what they’ve gone through, and they can help encourage you to keep going,” he said.
For Colton Herbert, a freshman in the College of Engineering and volunteer for the event, the highlight will be the speakers.
“They’ll be telling their experiences, and show you how different people have been impacted by their experiences,” he said.
“It’s all about inclusivity, which is really important at Marquette,” Herbert said.
The event promotes diversity and inclusion and provides a space for people to talk about their personal struggles and journeys.
“If you’ve ever gone through a situation where you’ve felt there’s no one you could ever turn to, I would really encourage you to come to this event so you can hear those stories and can know that you’re not alone,” Larson said.
“What’s being talked about is sensitive, but it needs to be said,” Pletcher explained.
