An overnight camping trip consisting of 20 students entitled “Risk Weekend” allowed students and a few faculty members to share candid conversation that was reciprocated by genuine listening. Creator and coordinator of the program Becky Avila was inspired to implement Risk Weekend after having participated in a similar program at her high school. The Weekend seemed particularly important to bring to Whitman students because, according to Avila, it was apparent “just talking to people [on campus, that] . . . they were ready to talk face-to-face . . . to share their story.”

Thus, Avila is using Risk Weekend as a means to 1) create a “safe environment for people to talk about issues” (that bother or affect them in their everyday lives); 2) establish a “foundation of trust” among those who participate; 3) to “build bridges” between people from all walks of life; and 4) to simply “vent”. Through this cathartic experience, those involved can build a support system by knowing that “we are all going through the same things,” said Avila.

Primarily, the pilot version of “Risk Weekend” consisted of a smaller group of about 10 students who stayed overnight at Jubilee Lake. In its second round, Risk Weekend has developed significantly, involving almost 20 participants who stayed the night at the Johnston Wilderness Center. There were also five core leaders including Becky Avila, Moabi Garebamono, Stephanie Gil, Ian Henderson and Veronica Prout.

The outdoors setting at the JWC allowed participants to escape from familiar surroundings and the mentality that accompanies life as a student on a campus. Jyotsna Shivanandan, one of the campers, paralleled her experience this weekend to studying abroad, remarking that it was a means of “going out to learn about in.”

Essentially, within just over 24 hours, a group of students and several professors and staff—from different walks of life and differing degrees of familiarity with each other—came to develop a common understanding. As a result, a sense of solidarity developed among a number of people that many believed they would not typically interact with.

During one exercise in which participants were paired up and asked to look one another in the eye for five minutes, people giggled and squirmed, rendered uncomfortable by their partners gaze. “When you look into someone’s eyes … it reminds you that they have a soul,” said Rand Biersdorff, another camper.
Several other campers agreed, remarking that often we avert eye contact and genuine connection with those around us, especially outside of our social circles for the sake of remaining in our comfort zones.

Suddenly normative societal tendencies that often cause us to be disconnected to those outside of our social cliques melted away. Participants began to break down barriers as they sought to be honest about who they are and embrace others without judgment.