On Monday, Nov. 13 and Tuesday, Nov. 14, the Residence Life staff led students through the ‘Just Words’ event in the Kanter Student Center. 

The program was designed to bring awareness to the power of the words we use. The Resident Assistants, Community Coordinators and other Residence Life staff set up and act out different scenarios to show the power of words. Resident Assistant Jordyn Ehmke mentioned how important this event is and the impact it can have.  

“I think it is an important event because it teaches us what we say is powerful,” Ehmke said. “In the heat of the moment, we can say things unintentionally that can hurt people, so an event like this is important so we don’t say things that hurt others.” 

After the program took a hiatus from campus, the Residence Life Office brought it back last year and again this year. The staff wanted to raise awareness on issues of diversity and inclusion on campus and specifically looking at the impact words can have. 

“The words we use impact people in ways we may not realize,” Associated Director of Residence Education Abby Schuck said. “Words can have a lot of power to them.” 

This year, the three scenarios students walked through were the anonymity of Yik Yak and how people hid behind anonymity online, how jokes can go too far and how to seek relationships that are healthy. After the event, there was also a debriefing station where students got the opportunity to speak on what they experienced and any situations they may be going through.  

Many students came out to the program, and Schuck spoke on the support that this event got. 

“I heard some of the debriefing conversations that occurred, and you could tell the way students were talking about how it impacted them that it opened their eyes to things,” Schuck said. 

For people that are struggling with any tough situation, Schuck pushes the many resources Wayne State College offers around campus. The Title IX Coordinator, Alicia Dorsey, the RAs and CCs, the Counseling Center and even Schuck herself or any of the other Assistant Directors of Residence Life are just some of the many resources that are available to students. 

“If you’re ever dealing with any of the things we are portraying or some other situation where words are being really harmful to you, please reach out to anybody,” Schuck said. “No one deserves to be treated in a way where words are used as weapons against them.”