It wasn't a fashion faux pas, but an invitation to talk.
More than 500 students, staff and faculty members wore white shirts Thursday to signal openness as part of a day-long event dubbed Campus Conversation.
Hermen Diaz, assistant director of multicultural student services, said faculty and staff planned the event in order to facilitate dialogue following recent cases of harassment on campus.
The offices of Multicultural and International Life, Campus Living and Community Development and Campus Living as well as Student Life invited the student body, along with faculty and staff, to participate in the event.
"A lot of ignorance and unfamiliarity happens because you just don't know people or you don't know specific communities. So, we wanted to provide a framework for people to start building those bridges and establishing those relationships and essentially creating a campus climate that is welcoming, that's affirming and one that people feel safe in," Diaz said.
Diaz said the faculty and staff members involved in creating the event decided to ask invitees to wear white shirts in order to stand out to others interested in talking.
"The white T-shirts really just sort of served as a signal to other students, or faculty and staff that these individuals are open to these conversations," Diaz said.
The university offices that sponsored the event purchased over 500 white T-shirts that they distributed to students and faculty to wear for the event.
The shirts cost over $1,000, all of which was financed by the offices.
Freshman Melanie Studnicka decided to put on her white shirt Thursday after being encouraged by her mentor to open herself up to conversation with others.
"As a Jewish student on campus, it's really important that we have an open campus dialogue about discrimination and anti-Semitism and that we are open to changing our campus and community, and I wanted to participate in it to let others know and to see who is open to changing our community," Studnicka said.
Studnicka said she struggled to find other individuals who wore white for many reasons, but said in her classes she encountered other T-shirt-clad individuals with conversation.
"It's hard because it's cold out so some people are wearing jackets and some people are wearing white and they don't even know about it," Studnicka said.
Sophomore Olivia Flores also participated in Campus Conversation. She wore a white shirt because she believes strongly in the importance of an open conversation on campus.
"I think open conversation is both important and fun," Flores said. "I wore a white shirt because I believe in conversation about opinions, beliefs, and issues."
Junior Molly Keller did not participate in the event because she didn't like the idea.
"I didn't wear a white shirt today, because I feel like campus should be open to conversation regardless of what color of shirt you're wearing," Keller said.
Though the number of white T-shirts on campus was smaller than the event's planners had hoped, it was not necessarily a reflection of students' attitudes towards open conversation, which many said was an integral and enjoyable part of DePauw life.