Second Friendship Revolution Rocks the HUB

(L to R) Alex DiCentes, Olivia Hodsdon, Stephanie Winter (Poets and Writers) with Jake Nawn's Family in the HUB

One of the best parts of college, aside from receiving a degree in a major of your choice, is forming a new network of friends. For most students, maintaining a healthy social life is crucial, but often, friendship is not something that is explicitly celebrated on college campuses. That, however, changed last year with the very first PSU Friendship Revolution.

The Friendship Revolution was created in celebration of friendship and in the honor of former PSU student, and friend of many at PSU, Jake Nawn. The event was held for the second year in a row last week, on Thursday night at 8 p.m in the HUB. PSU’s Poets and Writers organization put on the event.

Last year, many of the previous Poets and Writers members graduated and new members have taken over the student organization. These new members, like president Olivia Hodsdon and vice president Alex DiCentes were tasked with setting up the event, using last year as a skeleton.

Hodsdon said, “We called everyone we could that was involved last year and talked to a bunch of different people. A whole lot of planning happened on our end, but it was totally worth it.”

The event began in the Fireplace Lounge, and moved to the Hage Room for a performance by the band Trout God at around 9 p.m.. Trout God is a local Plymouth band composed of David Walker (vocals and guitar) and Killian Venman (drums), two senior PSU students and friends of Nawn.

“Unfortunately, I was manning everything downstairs so I didn't really get to see them [Trout God] play firsthand. But everyone I talked to said they were amazing. And those two are some of the most amazing guys. They made everything easy, and worked together so nicely,” Hodsdon said.

Along with the musical performance, the Friendship Revolution had henna, a poetry table, arts and crafts, an open mic and a “book for a buck” table.

When choosing the events for the Revolution, Hodsdon looked to her predecessor’s previous decisions. “These events were done last year by Hannah Dutton [the previous president], so we followed her lead!” Hodsdon said.

According to Hodsdon, the raffle and Trout God show were the biggest hits.

Local restaurants Burrito Me, Biederman’s and Thai Smile donated a great deal to the event, as did Nawn’s family. There will be a scholarship given out in Nawn’s name, but the winner has yet to be announced.

“The scholarship money hasn't gone to a home yet; the event just raised the money for it. I don't even have the words to describe Jake Nawn's family. They are some of the kindest people I've ever met, and made the event a blast. I got to meet the vast majority of his family--his mom and dad, both grandmothers, his stepmom and stepdad and several of his friends,” Hodsdon said.

Hodsdon and the rest of Poets and Writers were thrilled at the turnout of the event. “People weaved in and out after showing up in the HUB, and some of Jake's old friends came to visit. It was such a good turnout,” Hodsdon said.

The Revolution concluded around 11 p.m., with the open mic bringing a close to the event.

After all was said and done, Hodsdon said that the all of the work put into the event paid off. “It was just so amazing to see everyone come together like this. Everyone was happy and having fun, and it made all the stress and the planning worthwhile,” she said.

To follow future Poets and Writers events, visit their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/PSUPoetsWriters/.