JHUnions promotes student engagement

Established in 2014, JHUnions is a program within the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement that seeks to enhance on-campus social opportunities by bringing together Levering Hall, the Mattin Center and Nolan’s on 33rd, the three main student programming spaces on campus. It was founded in 2014 by the Office of Student Life.

Coordinator of Union Programming for JHUnions Caitlin Tumey explained that the organization hopes to increase community on campus with their diverse range of activities.

“JHUnions offers fun, social programming for JHU students with a particular focus on evening and weekend programming,” Tumey wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “We hope to enhance the social programming opportunities on campus and increase the level of student engagement.”

Tumey also described the positive reactions and feedback JHUnions events have been gathering.

“Thus far, this semester, the response has been very positive at many JHUnions events and through continuing to talk with students and grow our network through partnerships, we will continue to strengthen our presence and provide rich programming for students,” Tumey wrote.

JHUnions is expanding its presence on campus with the opening of The LAB, a new programming space, in January 2017. It will be located in the Homewood Apartments building and will join Levering, Mattin and Nolan’s as a social-centric space used for campus-wide programs.

“We are very excited about this new space as we believe it will provide more opportunities for unique programming offered by both JHUnions as well as other student organizations,” she wrote.

JHUnions plans a variety of events weekly, and regular ongoing programs include Saturday Paint Nights and Monday Night Trivia at Nolan’s. Additionally, the Friday Night Live on 33rd Series features a variety of programs that rotate on a monthly basis to include bingo, karaoke and poker nights. The group also plans one-off events, such as the Presidential Debate Watch Party in Nolan’s and Stuff a Pokémon in Levering.

Hopkins students play a critical role in JHUnions. Tumey explained that the organization often partners with other student groups to organize joint events and use common spaces.

“We hope to continue to broaden our network of partnerships with student organizations to utilize these spaces,” Tumey wrote. “Our partnerships with student organizations are not confined to just Friday nights and we are also partnering with student organizations and campus offices/departments for some upcoming programs that are happening on other days of the week.”

Sophomore Osiris Mancera, a member of Stressbusters, spoke about past experiences working with JHUnions. She hopes there will be further future collaboration.

“Stressbusters did a lot of partnering with JHUnions to do Paint Night last semester,” Mancera said. “Now we’re doing some more partnerships with them this semester and I think it’ll be really, really fun.”

Saturday Paint Nights are a popular JHUnions event. The event supplies art materials, from watercolors to oil pastels, for students to take a break from schoolwork by engaging creatively. It runs every Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Tumey explained the motivation behind organizing Paint Night as a weekly event, stressing the idea of consistency in JHUnions events.

“Our weekly Paint Night offers a creative outlet for students on Saturday nights,” Tumey wrote. “By remaining consistent and weekly, it also becomes a program that students can rely on happening if they are looking for a fun activity on any Saturday night.”

At the event, students sat in groups around tables as they worked. Some students painted scenes taken entirely from their imaginations, while others copied pictures online or traced images from books.

Seniors Tiffany Chung and Clara Aranguren painted mini pumpkins in celebration of fall.

“I wanted to spruce up the apartment,” Chung said, gesturing to her Super Mario-themed pumpkin.

Sophomore Johnnie A. Johnson painted decorations for her dorm room. Johnson was drawn to the event for its atmosphere and plans to attend again in the future.

“I like how calm and relaxing it is here,” Johnson said. “They have all the supplies here ready for me, and the people are really cool, and the painting is really cool.”

Tumey added that JHUnions offered a platform for students to provide their own input about campus events and programs.

“We are very excited to have established a student programming board this semester and are eager to have them work on our ongoing programs and come up with new ideas as the year progresses,” Tumey wrote. “We are also open to student suggestions regarding events and hope to continue to improve JHUnions through student involvement.”