Members of the Four Front umbrella organization spent the weekend getting to know one another at a retreat.
Four Front is an organization that brings together leaders from MU’s social justice organizations to discuss campus issues.
The group of more than 30 students spent the weekend at the Windermere Baptist Conference Center in Roach, Mo. The students discussed strategies for running a successful organization and participated in bonding activities.
“It’s supposed to act as a big bonding activity for the different representatives and the execs and also the learning component,” Four Front Chairman Sean Nahlik said.
This past weekend was Nahlik’s first retreat since joining Four Front in the fall 2010.
Students led workshops during the weekend to educate members about leading a successful organization, working with advisors and helping the MU community.
“(The workshops) were really fun,” Hispanic American Leadership Organization President Ana Gutierrez-Gamez said. “We learned a lot. There were activities to go along with the workshops.”
This was Gutierrez-Gamez’s second retreat with Four Front. This year, she led a workshop.
Students from the Multicultural Center’s Diversity Peer Educators program also led some activities for the group. The Diversity Peer Educators help facilitate difficult conversations about minority issues between MU students.
The education aspect of the weekend aimed to help the students learn how to successfully lead an organization.
“We talked about different ways to really utilize the resources we have and how to make a better org,” said Sheela Lal, South-Asian Student Association president and Maneater columnist. This was also Lal’s first time at a Four Front retreat.
Leaders and underclassmen members from social justice organizations came together to learn about running a successful organization.
“The different organizations that go on the retreat are supposed to send executive members as well as freshmen and sophomores,” Nahlik said. “That way we’re kind of building leadership that will continue on in the coming years.”
In addition to education, there were also many bonding activities throughout the weekend.
Some Four Front members cooked dinner for the group on Friday night and the group went hiking around the campgrounds.
“It was just really a relaxed atmosphere,” Lal said.
Saturday night ended with s’mores around a “bond-fire,” as Nahlik called it.
The retreat offered organization members a chance to network with other social justice organizations in an intimate setting.
“It was creating a community within the social justice community,” Lal said. “We helped to create a new tool to fight social injustice on campus with a larger unified group.”
The students who attended the retreat were required to give up their cell phones for the weekend. Gutierrez-Gamez said it was not a problem.
“After a while, you don’t even realize you don’t have your phone on you because you’re interacting with people at all times,” she said.
