Orange bands spur discussion

When Kai Degner sat down at lunch with three friends one February day in 2003, he had no idea he was about to start a nonprofit organization.

At the time, the war in Iraq was pending, and the four JMU seniors were upset that few people on their campus were actually talking about it. Whether or not people were for or against the war, they wished that students would discuss the issue. However, they realized how divisive the issue could be, and, as Degner recalls, "We decided to do something that would get people talking about it, but we didn't want to push people apart."

And so OrangeBand was born. Degner and his friends began passing out "Orange Bands" - orange strips of fabric on which students could write their opinion about the war and then pin them to their bookbags. The idea was to spark conversation about more than just what was going on Friday nights, but to get students talking with each other about the war. They also decided to hold forums about the war so that students could supplement their opinions with facts.

They were amazed at the results: over 2000 students took the bands. Lots of local media, as well as the national TV station C-SPAN, covered at the forums. In the following months, Degner thought about what had happened.

"It took a summer to digest [what happened the previous semester] and say, 'What happened?' It wasn't just that it was about Iraq, and it wasn't just that it was at JMU..."

Clearly, OrangeBand had tapped an unmet need.

The JMU students decided to expand their "Orange Bands" and forums to the next year and to discuss more issues than just the Iraq War. They chose three issues per semester to focus on: one local issue, one national issue, and one international issue. Last semester, these issues were, respectively: Immigrants and the Migrant Community; Voting in America; and AIDS and Famine in Africa.

They also agreed that their forums should have a specific format. Each forum would include time for "experts" to explain various views on the subject, and then there would be a time for the audience to ask questions and make comments.

Above all, Degner and his friends decided, OrangeBand would remain nonpartisan, seeking to give students information and spark conversation, rather than sway their opinions.

Last semester, some EMU students held their own OrangeBand forum in Lehman Auditorium. This semester, OrangeBand might reappear at EMU. "We're looking for new members, or anyone who wants to help out at all," said first-year student Liza James, who was inspired to work with OrangeBand at last Thursday night's informational meeting with JMU organizers.

This weekend, Oct. 15, 16, and 17, OrangeBand is sponsoring SpaghettiFest, a musical festival 20 minutes from JMU. It will feature nineteen bands, including Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root, The DJ Williams Project, and Midnight Spaghetti. The proceeds will benefit OrangeBand. For tickets or more information, go to www.orangeband.org.

"We're just a bunch of students trying to get people to talk about what's important to them," says Degner. "We're completely interested in having reasonable conversations without people butting heads and trying to win and deconstructing the other person."