By: Margot Dragos
In the midst of a busy midterm season, Brooklyn College (BC) Psychology Club invited students to calm their minds with a Tote Bag Painting event on Oct. 20. Students were provided with paint supplies, tote bags, candy, and pizza as they connected with students in the BC Student Center’s Amersfort Room.
A Halloween-themed playlist played as students painted and candy was placed on every table, inviting students to use their tote bag as a trick-or-treat bag if they wished.
“We thought it would be really fun to have our first event be a little Halloween event, especially as it’s hitting midterm season [and] students are stressed,” said BC Psychology Club President Khadija Fall. “We want to give them a time to practice mindfulness and introduce our non-psych students who come to our events to activities of mindfulness.”
“I asked [Sophia Cowan where she was] and she said ‘I’m in the Student Center and I’m about to paint,” Dayoina Singh, Business Administration major, told The Vanguard when asked how she found out about the event. “I got so excited so I ran over [to the event], and now I’m here painting.”
Sophia Cowan, a freshman majoring in Communications, said her favorite part of the event was how attendees didn’t have any “restrictions” on what they could do or paint.
“We can just kind of do what we want and just be with each other and get creative and stuff,” Cowan said.
Students had the option to paint popular characters like Hello Kitty and Pete the Cat. BC senior Javan Roberts painted his astrology sign, Libra, which is represented by a scale. He says it represents how he tries “to balance everything out between school and [his] personal life.”
Even if students weren’t avid artists or painters, they still found joy in making something for themselves.
“[My favorite part of the event is] the fact that we all get to make something creative and share this time together,” Psychology major Dana Hughes told The Vanguard. “Certain people can paint, certain people can’t– aka me, I can’t paint. But we all are out here trying and just having fun and laughing and talking, having some candy, you know?”
Fall emphasized how important it is to create something, even if it is imperfect.
“I was hearing a lot from students [saying] like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m not an artist. I’m not that good at this,’ but it’s like, it’s all about just making something [that’s] always so fun,” said Fall.
“I think [it’s] also meditative, like kind of talking about the mindfulness aspect of doing something for yourself, taking a break from your classes, but also, you know, not necessarily worrying too much about how perfect something’s going to be.”
She also wants students to know that Psychology Club isn’t exclusively for psychology majors. Fall says that while the club shares resources and opportunities for psychology students, it is always open to everyone.
“I think some students are afraid that, like, ‘Oh, I’m not a psych major, […] I can’t be part of the club,’ which is totally not the case at all,” said Fall. “[…] We’re always trying to share information to our psych students, but it’s also for non-psych students.”
Students appreciated the break from coursework to create something on campus and enjoyed connecting with people they might not see outside of class.
“I really like that I’m here with my friends,” said Singh. “Because it’s nice to find time during the school day that I can connect with them because our lives get really busy. It’s nice that this [event] could bring us together.”
To stay up to date with BC’s Psychology Club, follow their Instagram: @bc_psychology.