Do you miss giving hugs? Do you feel like you can’t show how much you care about someone due to COVID-19 restrictions? Do you feel slightly disconnected from campus right now? Then I’m happy to announce that The Belonging Project is coming to a Student Center near you. 

In the days of COVID-19, we have to verbally share our feelings to the people and places that mean the most to us, but that is very difficult. I know that it is hard because I can’t remember a moment when I actually took the time to tell my best friends how much they make me feel like I truly belong here and how important they have been to my personal growth here at St. Lawrence. Verbalizing how much people mean to us makes us feel vulnerable, but I think now more than ever we need to verbalize how much St. Lawrence means to us in order to keep our spirits up this year. 

The Belonging Project aims to appreciate the places and people that help you feel like you belong here at St. Lawrence. This project is entirely community based to help you, and your friends, feel more connected to each other and to St. Lawrence. 

September 28th-October 2nd will be the first ever Belonging Appreciation Week at St. Lawrence University. I invite you and your extended family unit to come to the Student Center and write a note, a memory, or a fun drawing that represents how much you appreciate a place on campus or a person who has been a bridge to belonging for you. 

For example, these places can be anywhere where you can feel completely yourself, so for me, I would write a note to my townhouse, or Dana, or Richardson Hall. You can also write to a specific person, or a group of people who have been a welcoming force during your time at SLU. For example, a professor who reaches out, a roommate who never lets you eat alone, a club or theme house that you have a special connection to, or just a pal from a class who always invites you into the conversation. 

These notes are short and sweet but can mean so much. They will be hung up on the String of Belonging in the Student Center for everyone to see how deeply everyone at St. Lawrence can and should feel like they belong here. At the end of the week, these notes will be distributed to whom they are written about. It will, in essence, be a hug in a note. 

By the end of the week, hopefully everyone on our campus will feel more connected and more loved because of The Belonging Project. By the end of the semester, and through ongoing subprojects of The Belonging Project, 6-7 Places or People of Belonging will be named and recognized. They are places or people who have actively welcomed newcomers, cared for others, and made St. Lawrence feel like home to the community around them. 

A Senior, Hannah Arment, puts it perfectly: “The Belonging Project is so important, especially this year. We can’t forget to show we care about the people in our lives who mean the most to us just because COVID-19 makes it a little more difficult. In fact, we should be going out of our way to reach out and spread the love.”