By Lexi White
Features Editor
Psychology major Nad Arnaout, a junior, showing the craft they made at the event.
Even though the holidays are over, students are finding creative ways to keep the magical winter feeling alive.
On Jan. 27, Prism, a club designed to be an outlet for LGBTQ+ students, hosted a snowflake making event. The group’s president, healthcare studies major Khabyra Alston Kennie, a sophomore, said she wanted to see the community come together and be artsy.
“I hope people are having positive interactions with each other and expressing their queerness in a place where they won’t be judged,” Alston Kennie said.
Alston Kennie said Prism holds a special place in her heart and wants other LBGTQ+ students to recognize that there is a place that they can go to.
“Especially with everything going on in the world right now, us queer people need to stick together,” Alston Kennie said. “If this club ever dies out, we’ll die out as a safe space for queer people.”
While the club is meant to be a sanctuary for those who identify with the LGBTQ+ label, Prism is open to anyone who supports the group and their message.
“This event gives students an opportunity to meet other people who are like minded in some way,” Alston Kennie said. “I assume that those who come to the event are either queer or an ally.”
Computer science major Kaye Feinberg, a senior, is the secretary of Prism and said the environment is very supportive.
“I have been a part of this group since I was a freshman here and it is so great to watch it grow,” Feinberg said. “I’ve met so many people like me and people who support my community through these events we do.”
While this event is great for students to socialize, Feinberg said the crafts provided were to help them relax too. Feinberg said the beginning of a new semester can be anxiety inducing, but Prism’s events can guide students to a sound mind.
“Students can take a minute to unwind, make a snowflake and have a good time before the new semester work kicks in,” Feinberg said.
Computer science major Johanna Sampedro, a sophomore, said she didn’t know about Prism for her first two years at the university. She said she saw a poster for an event the group was hosting and wanted to see what the club had to offer.
Sampedro specifically came to Prism’s snowflake making event because the crafts made her feel nostalgic.
“Making snowflakes when I was younger felt magical to me,” Sampedro said. “It makes me happy that I get to explore that feeling again while being here at the event.”
As Alston Kennie and Feinberg stated, this event was hosted to make people in the community feel welcomed and at home. Their goal of this gathering was to give students a chance to be their true, authentic, being.
Sampedro said, “I just feel happy and giggly being here today and I’m so glad I get to see other students feeling the same way.”
