Students came together to show their creativity on small pieces of fabric Tuesday on the UA Mall. The pieces were stitched together, eventually becoming a quilt of diversity and acceptance.
This event was the brainchild of Oprah Revish, co-director of Pride Alliance, who wanted to do more with the allotted time on the Mall during “”Coming Out Week.””
“”I thought it would be cool if everyone had the opportunity to show their uniqueness on a piece of fabric,”” Revish said. “”And when they are all sewn together, it would show all of our differences but still show our unity and community.””
Students who participated were a diverse group, coming from all different backgrounds, explained health and sexuality intern Jai Smith.
“”We have had people here who identify in the gay community, (and) we have had people who identify as allies,”” Smith said. “”Even people who don’t identify with anything related to the gay community – we have had a bit of everything.””
Amid the process of designing his colorful pattern on a small piece of blue fabric, political science senior Matthew Trice justified his participation in the event.
“”Regarding the gay community, or any community for that matter, people always seem to notice the differences but never the similarities,”” Trice said. “”If we just hung out with a variety of people and we did not alienate them, we would see how similar we are to each other.””
The impromptu arts and crafts activity on the Mall made for interesting interpretations on the theme of unity, studio art sophomore Caitlin Evanishyn said.
“”People did not wake up this morning knowing that they would be designing a little patch for an alliance quilt,”” Evanishyn said. “”It’s really cool seeing what people come up with on the spot.””
Each patch on the quilt was designed by a different person, all of whom come from different environments and carry ideals that separate one person from the next, Pride Alliance officials said.
Although creation of the quilt began Tuesday, Pride Alliance plans on adding to the quilt in future Alliance events. Once the quilt is completed, it will be hung in the Pride Alliance offices, they said.
The beauty of the quilt is that it displays the magnificence of all communities coming together in one presentation of “”acceptance,”” Pride Alliance officials said.
Just one hour into the event, Pride Alliance had collected over 50 decorated pieces of fabric ready to be sewn into an ongoing Love Threads Quilt.
Upon gazing at her colorful creation, Priscilla Calderon, a psychology senior, described what she decided to create with the fabric and assortment of puff paint provided.
“”I decided to draw a heart with a rainbow of colors inside,”” Calderon said. “”It means simply: Love is for everyone.””