Friendship bracelets with Chase Hall RAs

By Lexi White

Features Editor

photo | Lexi white
Residents of Chase Hall making friendship bracelets.

The best way to unwind after a long day of learning is by doing something relaxing. The Chase Hall Resident Advisors, or RAs, enacted this idea and hosted a friendship bracelet making event for their residents.

The RAs who hosted this event were nursing majors Prisilla Tshinguta and Hillary Lim, seniors. They are both RAs on the sixth floor in Chase Hall and wanted to help residents become acquainted with each other during their first few weeks on campus by hosting their event on Sept. 9.

“Some of the freshmen came here with no friends, so if they all gather here and get to know each other and make little conversations, then maybe they will end up walking together to class or to the cafeteria,” Tshinguta said.

Tshinguta and Lim had $50 from Residence Life, or ResLife, for their budget for their first event of the semester.

“We were kind of limited on what we could do, and I feel like this is something affordable and fun that will bring all the residents together,” Tshinguta said.

The start of this school year was also the start of Lim’s first semester of being an RA. Lim said that she and Tshinguta make a great team, especially when it comes to figuring out event ideas.

Lim said: “She brought up friendship bracelet making, and I loved it. So, we kind of just rolled with that and thought that it would be a good way for students to relax at the end of their day.”

Once the RAs had their event idea figured out, they emailed ResLife a list of items that they needed: string, beads, snacks and drinks.

“Southern makes it easy to have this stuff ordered,” Lim said. “I emailed ResLife what I needed, and it was here the next day, so to have this event like a week later was really nice.”

Students made their own personalized friendship bracelets while enjoying free snacks and talking to the other students living in their building.

“I think our event is beneficial in the social aspect because residents are able to meet people on different floors, and I was able to meet the residents who are not on my floor,” Lim said.

Art history major Ryenne Davis, a freshman, was one of the students who attended the friendship bracelet making event. She said she came to the event because she was done with her schoolwork and wanted to give herself a way to relax.

“I think this helps students de-stress because crafting activities are very helpful,” Davis said.

Another student who attended the event was finance major Luke Martinez, a freshman. He said he came to this event with his friends after leaving swim practice.

“This event is good for students because we can connect with each other and hang out with friends without being in a dorm or going out somewhere,” Martinez said.

Martinez made his own bracelet and described this event as “chill, in the best way possible.”