Sewanee's Social Renaissance: Kicking it for Congo

Even as menacing storm clouds intruded on what should have been a beautiful May Day, a group of workers from both KA and Sewanee's Falling Whistles chapter assembled outside of the KA house to organize a fundamentally different sort of party in enthused defiance of the awful weather.  Featuring superb music from Sewanee's own Jordan Hall (and friends) as well as the locally based bluegrass outfit, the Orpy Pickers, a raffle, and an abundance of donated food from local restaurants (described, verbatim, by multiple party-goers as "an awesome spread"), the gathering could have easily passed for a typical (if atypically well-organized and well-fed) fraternity party, drawing a respectable crowd in spite of multiple Greek formals and buzz-killing weather. However, there was nothing ordinary about this party; dozens of students, both Greek and non-Greek had come together to raise money for Congo by simply doing what they do best on the weekend, "kicking it."

A product of a well-attended workshop on "campus activism" held by Falling Whistles director, Sean Carasso and Sewanee alumnus and former Outreach officer, Skip Bivens, the party, aptly titled "Kick it for Congo," has been months in the planning, complete with a party committee and an elaborate grassroots advertising campaign. It now stands as both a testament to Sewanee's willingness to serve as well as its willingness to unite in service. Under the Falling Whistles banner, several fraternities (KA, LXA, and PHI), sororities (ADT, TKP, PKE, and ATZ) and independent organizations (the Pre-Med Society and the Sewanee Whistler Society) rallied to raise over $1800 to rehabilitate war-victimized children in Congo. With whistles around the necks of natty-drinking "frat-lord" and tee-totaling "hippie" alike (many of whom had never even been inside KA), the party may very well prove reflective of a new trend in Sewanee's social life; in the words of one student, hat locked backwards (party mode), beer in hand (and whistle dangling), "it's so cool what we're doing here!"

Between the advent of a new Vice-Chancellor, a new student government, and social organizations like the Diversity Coalition and Falling Whistles, change is on the wind, and now, more than ever before, Sewanee is poised to change itself from the inside out. If we, as a student body, can organize and pull off parties that benefit society, promote interaction between formerly isolated social groups, and actually draw crowds, then I'd say that sure looks like progress, sustainable progress at that. When I look at Sewanee's horizon, I see not a revolution, but a budding renaissance; lasting change at Sewanee is not coming from without, but from within, using existing structures (like fraternities and sororities) rather than demolishing them.  If you want to see the real agent of change at Sewanee, simply look in the mirror. Believe it, live it, and we'll do something amazing here.