By Josef Spence
When walking around campus, I can’t help but run into people I know. Even beyond campus, though, it can be easy to encounter another person who is a member of the Bishop’s community, though possibly differing greatly from me in age, home, attitudes, and beliefs. Yet none of these differences between this individual and me in any way impede our ability to relate to one another and fondly remark on our education at Bishop’s University. Indeed, we both recognize it as far more than just an education — it is an experience created by interconnection and care.
Almost every university and college claims to be the “home away from home” for their students — a place where people can truly be themselves and learn about the world in a sheltered environment. It would seem rather pretentious, and perhaps even conceited, for me to claim that Bishop’s is a true anomaly among institutions of higher education that exceptionally achieves this claimed goal. But I am going to make that claim anyway, for I have heard of no other academic institution that is as true a home as BU. Bishop’s has a close-knit community, which is glaringly obvious to anyone who spends time here. This community is based on shared experiences — for BU students, often all partake in the same traditions and activities — and a real care for the community itself.
Importantly, this monumental community of Bishop’s does not arise solely, or even primarily, from systemic structures within the university. Rather, the culture at Bishop’s is one that values people getting together and having a good time, which easily — and I might add, even naturally — results in people forming connections with others. Bishop’s small size certainly helps maintain this culture, but it is the individuals here who keep the culture alive from year to year.
Through our shared experiences, starting with challenges during O-Week and continuing through nights at the Gait, cheering at Gaiters games no matter the outcome, wings at the Lion, and the proud singing of our school song at graduation and throughout our time here, there is a common sense of community among BU students.
We may have varied interests, but we can all speak to being a BU student — not just to being a student of a particular area of study or a member of a specific club. As third- year Sport Studies student Tristan Haddad observed, “It’s very easy to connect with a lot of students, despite different programs, different opinions, … different hobbies…It’s a great community.” Though diverse individuals, we are one community at Bishop’s. And it is through the initiative of the individuals that the community can thrive as they connect throughout the year through parties, shared meals, clubs, and sports. These initiatives go farther than simple events; however, they exist in the care that members of the BU community have for each other, in the carpooling around town and between the cities, the sharing of class resources, and the openness to engaging with anyone else in the community.
In my mind, the most defining feature of Bishop’s is its culture of community. There may be some divisions, but they are not fractures or seclusions; students at BU exist in the singular community of Bishop’s. This is not an institutional community but one that is interpersonal: one concerned not primarily with status or reputation but with long-standing human shared experience. If we wish to continue seeing this community be strong, we must work for it personally. College days linger in our hearts only insofar as we are willing to bleed purple in spirit and action through welcoming attitudes and jovial festivities.
