You may have seen the posters around campus: bright green, with vegetables dancing around the words “Friendshipness Stone Salad.”
The poster, created by Brianne Wood, is advertising an event that will take place August 5th in the Student Programs office. But what is friendshipness?, you wonder. And what is stone salad?
If you can’t remember the basic premise of the children’s tale “Stone Soup”, here’s a refresher: A group of travelers arrive in a strange village with an empty pot and no food. They beg the villagers for food, but the villagers are unwilling to give them any. Finally, the travelers begin boiling a pot of water, and drop a large stone into it. When the curious villagers ask what they’re making, the travelers reply,“ Stone soup. It’s wonderful, but we just need a few ingredients to make it perfect.” One by one, the villagers donate various ingredients, until a delicious, nourishing soup is made and enjoyed by all.
Although the details of the tale vary across cultures, the story is usually presented as a lesson in cooperation, particularly in times of hardship or scarcity.
The sweet story was in large part the inspiration for the upcoming event, “Friendshipness Stone Salad. “
The event, which takes place in the Student Programs Office (C212), is being hosted by the Peer to Peer Mentoring and Volunteer Program (often abbreviated P2P). The mission of P2P is to help students develop beneficial relationships between each other and their community so that they can be successful both academically and in life.
That’s where the word “friendshipness” comes in. Defined as “a community of friendship,” the term has its origin in the Camp Casey leadership retreat, which took place at the beginning of this summer.
“We were playing some leadership games, and one of the games was to create a song about community and togetherness,” said Lina, P2P Advisor and coordinator of the event.
One of the participants accidentally created the word ‘friendshipness’, and the effect was immediate.
“We all said, ‘That’s a great word!’” said Lina.
The Friendshipness Stone Salad event is striving to capture the spirit of the P2P program, and the camaraderie of the leadership retreat.
“It’s an event on building a community between different clubs and departments on campus,” said Lina.
However, the event isn’t exclusive to club members; it’s open to everyone who wishes to take part. In the spirit of the “Stone Soup” story, each attendee is asked to add to a large communal salad.
“Our vision is [for everyone] to bring a cup of vegetables,” said Lina. “We’ll provide the greenery.”
Friendshipness Stone Salad will take place Wednesday August 5th, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in Student Programs (room C212).