On Monday, Feb. 10, the Dickinson College Psychology (Psych) Club hosted its annual Love Your Body Week Kick-off Soiree to begin Love Your Body Week, which will take place from Feb. 10-Feb. 14. The Kick-off Soiree was held to “promote and engage in body positive activities,” according to the Dickinson College website.

Various clubs and organizations, including but not limited to the Panhellenic Council, the Women & Gender Resource Center, the Waidner-Spahr Library and Asian Asian-American Club, were in attendance. Each had a table with an activity that promoted body positivity. Some of the activities included writing positive notes and placing them on a mirror, cutting out positive words from newspapers, celebrity disability trivia and taking a picture pointing to your favorite body part. There were also performances by Hypnotic, Anwar Belly Dance and Dickinson Dance Theatre Group throughout the event. 

Mia Romano ’22, vice president of the psychology club, planned the Love Your Body Soirée. She said that she was pleased with the turnout of the event. “It was really awesome to see so many different groups in the same place celebrating such a positive message,” she said. 

Students in attendance reflected on the event. Ashely Russo ’22 said, “[It] was a super fun event and people got to learn about different ways to be body positive through the lenses of different groups on campus.” 

Other students shared positive remarks about the event’s activities. Bethany Petrunak ’22 said, “It was great to see so many groups participating […] giving much needed support to students, spreading positivity, and providing a stress-free space to engage in mindful activities.” Ariel Levin-Antila ’21 said “I thought it was fun and a great way to bring the campus together! I loved the performances and the act ivies at all the tables were very meaningful.”

Romano explained that planning the event was rewarding. “With the success of this year, we, as psych club, could easily expand the event to even more groups on campus and have it be an even bigger event next year,” she said.

Other events taking place for Love Your Body week include, Pleasurable Sex, a discussion hosted by PALS on safe sex and pleasure, on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and the Love Your Body Week Keynote Lecture on Thursday, Feb. 13, among others.