Students and staff members loaded plates high with macaroni and cheese, falafel and cookies and gathered around confetti-sprinkled tables at the Staff Appreciation Potluck in Boren Lounge on Feb. 11. Staff from Housekeeping, Dining, Landscape & Grounds and other departments as well as students from all corners of the community attended the potluck. Guilford employs 273 full- and part-time non-faculty staff in 48 departments. The event is designed as a way for students to meet, talk to and show their appreciation to the staff who were able to come.

“The meaning of this event is to appreciate a part of the Guilford community that too often gets overlooked,” said junior Alyzza Callahan, project coordinator of Project Community, which organized the potluck. “Before winter break, 20 staff people were cut. It’s really important to acknowledge the fact that we’re not being completely true to our so-called Quaker values that the school sticks to, and we need to be mindful of our actions and how they affect everyone.”

Senior Natan Harel, who put together Project Community’s first staff appreciation event in the spring of 2007, believes that it’s also a time for staff to get to see a side of students that they may not normally.

“The whole purpose is to have a day where the other side of students can come out and show that no matter how hard we make it on housekeeping and maintenance, it’s a chance to show that we do appreciate their hard work,” said Harel.

Many staff have had to clean up messes and repair vandalism done by students. This can be frustrating and can create a negative perception of the student body as a whole.

“In the past here, students have done some major damage,” said Steve Meade, who works for Facilities. “You assume that everyone is involved and they’re not. For the most part, the students are really great.”

Additionally, the potluck was a chance for staff and students alike to get to know each other on a personal level.

“This gathering is a very nice gesture,” said Charlie Cameron, the school locksmith. “It lets each of us see the other side a little. Hopefully, more connections can be built from this.”

Some staff have good relationships with students, especially those whose jobs bring them into regular contact with students.

“Some of the kids come home and Housekeeping will be fussing at them, like a parent away from home,” said Rolanda Johnson, who works for Building Services. However, some staff only have fleeting contact with students, and events like this aim to increase contact and build relationships between the two groups.

Abel Ndingwan, the school’s painter, stressed the importance of these relationships and the impact they can have on the people involved.

“When you bump into somebody and the person finds time to say ‘hi,’ it’s very important,” said Ndingwan. “Maybe your day’s not been so nice and someone spoke to you. You feel fine and good.”

To many, staff appreciation extends beyond an afternoon.

“My hope is for this to make it so that staff appreciation goes beyond just today, just an organized event,” said Callahan. “I want to make it like an understood norm, to really create the true meaning of community.”

Ways of appreciating staff in our everyday lives could be as simple as striking up a conversation, saying thanks for the jobs they do, or making sure you clean up after yourself.

By holding an event such as this and striving to incorporate staff appreciation into daily life, students hope to strengthen and build community.

“At Guilford College, people talk about making change in the world,” said Harel. “This is an opportunity to make a change in this community.