Shippensburg University’s Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (MSA) hosted its annual “A Quilt to Cover Us All Event” on Friday, Sept. 26 outside of Gilbert Hall to wrap-up SUnity Week.

Formerly known as Diversity Week, SUnity Week ran from Sept. 22-26 and featured several events, including the quilt reveal. Each event emphasized respecting differences in cultural backgrounds across campus and highlighted the aspects of working together with various types of individuals.

More specifically, the quilt acts as a symbol of the different groups amongst campus coming together and uniting as one larger collegiate community.

The quilt is assembled as groups and individuals on campus submit a panel to MSA that artfully captures a message about their organization or personality. The panels then are sewn together into the quilt that is displayed at the end of SUnity Week.

This year, the reveal started off with remembering former MSA Director Diane Jefferson who passed away this summer. Also acknowledged was the recent death of Robert Lesman, Ph.D., who was the department chair of the Global Languages and Culture department on campus. A moment of silence was held for both.

After the moment of silence, Assistant Vice President for Inclusion and Belonging Manuel Ruiz, Ph.D., introduced and provided the context of the event. He even shared some of Jefferson’s legacy with the crowd.

Ruiz said Jefferson believed “it’s a human thing.” That no matter a person’s background, at the end of the day, everybody is human. 

Following Ruiz, SU President Charles Patterson spoke about why unity is important. 

“This quilt reminds us that we all matter…. [and that] we agree to hold space for one another,” said Patterson. 

Student trustee Colin Arnold shared a similar message about coming together. He also encouraged individuals to limit their screen time and engage in more in-person discussions about the world around us and the diversity within it. 

Student representatives from multiple clubs and organizations were welcomed to share their panels with the audience following the opening remarks. Most also described the thought process behind their design. 

Groups that spoke about their panels were the Women’s Rugby Club, African American Organization and the Activities Programming Board (APB).

The square for the Women’s Rugby Club included the phrase “Every Body Belongs on the Pitch,” further adding to the idea that everyone deserves the opportunity to enjoy the same sport. 

On the APB panel, the group changed the wording in their acronym to reflect the idea of unity with the words “All People Belong.” 

Along with groups, individuals were allowed to submit panels. A student representative of Samuel Benbow’s class shared two of her designs. Before discussing her designs, she voiced her experience as a person of mixed race along with some of the content taught in Benbow’s class, which inspired her panels. She had two designs: one featured the phrase “Enough, Enough, Enough” and the other included cut-outs of people of different racial backgrounds. 

After presenting the quilt, attendees were encouraged to take a closer look at the decorative panels and then head to the Old Main Fountain for a food truck festival.

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