PRINTA Conversation With: Charles J. Parker Jr. and Morgan Jefferson
Project United encourages student communication and unity
Matthew Busch
Charles J. Parker Jr. and Morgan Jefferson created Hump Day Holla to encourage students to communicate with one another.
January 19, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Students who want to reach out to their peers can first reach out to MU’s Project United. The group is meant to encourage students to communicate with campus peers and people within Columbia. Members want them to strike up meaningful conversations to learn from diverse individuals and build long-lasting relationships.
The organization’s executive board, which consists of MU students Morgan Jefferson, Charles J. Parker Jr., Robert Steeples, Ted Paletta and Ryan Montague, was established in August. Jefferson, 20, and Parker, 24, say many undergraduates rarely talk with people they don’t know. However, through Project United, organizers would like to change the way people communicate with one another.
The organization’s main event, Hump Day Holla, will take place every Wednesday at several locations, including Memorial Union, the Student Center and The Bridge on East Walnut Street. Jefferson and Parker believe the initiative will help students talk with one another without smartphones and computers.
Why did you all establish Hump Day Holla?
Jefferson: We implemented Hump Day Holla because it’s very rare that students will go up to one another in the Student Center and ask if they can sit with them. We’re not trying to force this on people, but we are trying to give them the opportunity to have those conversations. Every week, there will be a specific theme, such as art or another broad topic, so people can get into it and say, “I like rock music; I like country music.” It doesn’t have to stay on that topic; it can lead to other things.
Why do you think students might have a difficult time communicating with one another?
Parker: Our students are becoming socialized to be anti-social with people of different backgrounds who are not within their social circle. We’re just asking students to do what they are already doing — talking to each other in the Student Center — but try and talk to people outside of their comfort zone. Students will sit in these large lecture classes every day for an entire semester and never know their peers’ names.
How do you implement Project United?
Jefferson: We’re trying to get students involved so they can have the same experience we’re having. This is one of those experiences that comes once in a lifetime.
How do you keep group members interested?
Jefferson: We put on our Facebook wall and our Twitter what we’re doing behind the scenes. We’re keeping them informed and involved to keep up the morale. We just want to keep it open for students to feel at ease because this organization is something that can change their lives on this campus.
What is a typical meeting like?
Jefferson: In the first meeting, we give tasks, so everyone has something to do. When you come to the next meeting, you say your tasks and say where you went with it. In our exec board, we don’t have that many people, so we do what we can with what we have. We’re reading this book called Made to Stick that’s guiding us on how to start this organization and how to make our ideas and presentations relevant and sustainable. Every meeting we’re telling our members how we want to implement what we learn from the book in Project United.
How are you reaching out to the larger community?
Jefferson: We’re working with volunteer places and retirement homes. We want to go to the food bank and do backpack buddies. We also want to go to Hickman and Rock Bridge and elementary schools to implement learning conversations. We don’t want it to just be a Mizzou thing, we want it to be a community thing. You never know what you can learn from people; just because they’re not students, doesn’t mean they don’t have anything to say.
