As she clicked the red Notification button, a  senior girl saw she was added into a Facebook group dedicated to coordinating plans for Turnabout. When she scrolled down the group’s page, she encountered a poll inquiring whether or not she should be allowed into the group.

In front of her face were the names of those who determined she was worthy of being included for the weekend’s festivities and those who did not.

As evidenced by the spirit days and decorations associated with Turnabout, it seems that a goal of dances is to unite students through Spartan spirit by providing a medium to come together. But we tend to neglect this opportunity when we become more exclusive during this time of year. When an individual or couple is looking for a group to join for the weekend, groups often opt not to let in certain people.

After an initial group is formed and others request to join, it seems that people who are not typically exclusive or unwelcoming leave out others because they do not feel a personal responsibility to include them. Some hide behind the group’s mask and say malicious things that they would not normally say. This mob mentality allows people to act poorly without feeling responsible for their actions. It makes it seemingly acceptable for a single group member to tell people that they are not welcome because the entire group feels that they do not belong.

When students shut out others, it is often because someone in the group does not like that person or because some of the members do not know the newbies so well. When this happens, the excluders are allowing preconceived notions about the outsiders to shape the events of the weekend, when it could have been a chance to make new friends.

If your group is being exclusive, don’t hide behind it. Stand by your personal values. Just because the group’s collective voice says one thing does not mean that yours needs to parrot it. If some group members do not want to let someone in the group, think about how you would normally interact with this person one on one and act based on that. By not speaking up for people being excluded, you are just as bad as the primary excluder.

Logistically, groups do need to get cut off at some point, so decide to stop letting people in after a certain number rather than deciding who is accepted on a case-by-case basis.

This Turnabout, if you do not know people in your group, seize the opportunity to get to know someone new. If you still have room in your group, invite some others who are not in groups to join you. Take the chance to help the Spartan community strengthen over the course of the weekend of the dance. When dances are supposed to be a time for the student body to come together, do not be the one to force it apart.