Enchanted Engagement

Taylor Swift and Other Fandoms Create Connections For Students

by Emily Vitosh

From the Eras Tour to “The Life of a Showgirl,” singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has taken the world by storm, her undeniable influence and popularity reaching even the University of Iowa Honors Program. A listening party for the release of the artist’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was held in Blank Honors Center (BHC) on October 3rd. This event marked the start of a unique strategy to raise the level of student engagement in the Honors Program.

The listening party was a hit, bringing in 37 students to BHC. The event featured crosswords, word finds, friendship bracelet-making, and even a cake decorated as the album. While the album played in the background, the purpose of this event was not primarily to expose students to new music, but to bring them together in a stress-free, low-stakes environment.

Marley Eickelberg, a first-year cinema major, attended this event and spoke about how this event provided a “space to talk about this thing that I had so much to say about without feeling like a burden.”

While the Honors Program has held several talks and events revolving around honors courses, experiential learning, and study abroad opportunities, Honors Program staff have also recognized the importance of creating fun, relaxed spaces for students.

“Sometimes students also just want a place to be with other students and have time to dive into a passion or relax a little bit,” said Honors Student Engagement Coordinator Madison Kramer.

Staff including Kramer, Emily Hill, Candice Wuehle, and Mark Archilbald were in attendance at the listening party, showing their commitment and enthusiasm for creating these relaxing spaces. While Schulte, Hill, and Wuehle were motivated to attend because of their own interest in Taylor Swift, all of them strung together friendship bracelets, making one-on-one connections with honors students.

Kramer emphasizes the importance of making connections with honors students and making sure students know that the staff are there to support them, whether through advising meetings, teaching classes, or showing up at events.

Interest-based events also offer the unique opportunity for honors students to connect with people outside their major. Expanding your community to students you may not have met without Honors is one of the greatest benefits of the program. This also benefits students by giving them a fully developed support system.

Fostering these connections is of huge importance to the Honors Program.

“The more connections you have, the better, and it can just be fun to build that outside of the people you see every day,” said Schulte.

This event gave Eickelberg a similar opportunity. “[Honors students] were all united in one specific interest, not a broader group like honors, or even music fans.”

As for the creation of this event, interest from students and the already established Poetics (Taylor’s Version) honors course played a huge role in this. The Honors Program prides itself on its ability to listen to students’ wants and interests, and to aid students in turning those interests into real events.

When visiting Emily Hill’s honors course, Classic-Cult Cinema, I asked what specific fandoms the students have interests in that could inspire future events similar to the listening party. These interests include vampire-themed events, a murder mystery party, and a Christmas-themed Harry Potter event.

Eickelberg suggested Disney-themed trivia, craft nights, or movie nights. Given enough interest and passion from honors students, these relaxing community-building events could become a reality.

“It’s cool to use fandoms to build connections that you can lean on beyond the fandom itself,” said Eickleberg.

So be sure to mention your nerdy passion to Kramer and other honors staff, because you never know how many other students are begging to explore the same fandom.