Hannah Pahutski '15 reflects on the first year of Shalom Community.
Throughout the year Shalom hosted a murder mystery house party, spontaneous jam sessions, game nights, and a campus-wide dialogue on racial reconciliation. We also experienced laughing, crying, and stressing our way through Dr. Kim's Racial and Ethnic Relations class. We have learned and are continuing to learn how to love each other in community, navigate conflict, and respect different living styles. We've learned from each other's experiences and learned how to express how our race impacts our lives. In our time together sharing about our lives as well as stories regarding race, we have learned to see the world through other people's eyes.
One activity in particular is when the Shalom Community went into Chicago to go ice-skating on one of the only ice rinks built on a small hill! Our day included running to catch the train, enjoying bubble teas, and bracing the freezing Chicago wind as we ventured to the ice rink. Ice-skating was a new experience for several of us, but by the end we were all able to skate quite fast on our own, race each other, and make a long chain. On the train ride back, we squished into the small number of seats available and told each other riddles.