This Wednesday, Feb. 12, students finally have a reprieve from classes. Many students might be curious why. This is because of the Day of Dialogue, a Knox tradition founded in 2018. 

“[The Day of Dialogue] is an annual campus-wide community event that features a keynote address followed by dialogue sessions. Our goal is to bring together faculty, staff, and students to collaboratively address the social and political challenges of our time,” Sophomore Intercultural Life Peer Educator Ha Phuong Nguyen said. 

Day of Dialogue originated as an idea in 2017, proposed by the Multicultural Student Advisory Committee. It was meant to “expand our faculty, staff, and student understanding, awareness, and skills in order to collaboratively address the political and social challenges of our time,” according to its official website, by hosting a series of workshops and discussions with a keynote address. 

This year, the keynote speaker will be  Vernon Wall, a public speaker with thirty years of experience who primarily discusses social justice issues. He has written two books about inclusion on college campuses. However, the keynote address is just one part of the Day of Dialogue. There is an anti-doom scroll workshop, a yoga and breakfast session, and two facilitated dialogue sessions: The Leader Within: Race, Culture, Ethnicity, Identity, & Leadership, and Equity and Storytelling – The Power of Individuals in Changemaking.

Although many students might see Day of Dialogue as a rest day where they are free of the burdens of classes, it is also an opportunity to engage in many interesting discussions and events that will happen on campus. A whole day is a lot of free time, and Day of Dialogue offers an opportunity to learn more about yourself and others while doing some yoga along the way. Session sign ups are available here.