In an effort to provide a space for students of various backgrounds and majors to creatively share their ideas, Shubhankar Arun and Aboli Goghari created Quote Unquote.
Arun, a junior in the College of Communication, and Goghari, a junior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, are both international students. Together they founded Quote Unquote to build a sense of community on campus last fall.
Though it’s an unofficial club on campus, the founders said it is somewhere for students to be able to tell stories and share their own unique experiences.
“For me, when I have an idea, I like to share it with people,” Arun, who also writes for the sports section of The Daily Free Press, said. “I thought it would be nice to form a small community that could give students a space to gather.”
Goghari said that since October, Quote Unquote has become more structured and focused on creativity.
“Coming from any major, students are pushed to talk, engage and think differently,” Goghari said.
Quote Unqoute meets for an hour each Thursday, and students are encouraged to explore different areas of expression such as theater, improvisation and storytelling, according to Arun.
“In our last meeting, we looked at the art of conversation. Today we will be focusing on dramatic storytelling and theatrics,” Arun said. “It is a safe space to work on yourself.”
In last Thursday’s meeting on Feb. 14, Quote Unquote focused on self expression in different forms. Club members paired up and had a discussion with one person communicating only through text and the other person through speaking.
Arun said it was interesting “to see and understand how good a person is at each of these tasks.”
Quote Unquote began because the two were interested in meeting more people from the student body, according to Arun.
“We wanted to expand our exposure on campus and connect with different communities,” Goghari said. “Because BU is so big, it can be isolating for communities. We wanted a place where people can come and interact.”
Quote Unquote is structured with specific activities and exercises as the focus of each meeting, according to Arun, but the club remains open and free to all members who are interested in bringing their skills. He said one of his friends may come to a club meeting to teach a guitar lesson.
Along with each member bringing their own skill set and story, the club’s dynamics allow for students to challenge themselves in new creative fields, Arun said.
“I find it intimidating,” Goghari said. “But I am excited to get better at that and put myself up to the challenge.”
At the that same meeting, six members of Quote Unquote convened to showcase their skills in expression and storytelling. The club emphasizes friendly energy with interactive activities throughout the meeting to help the members engage with one another and be creative, according to Arun.
Anuj Jain, a College of Arts and Science junior and a member of Quote Unquote, discussed his favorite moments of the community.
“The fact that you can talk to anyone so easily makes the club special,” Jain said. “It helps me to come out of my shell and have a meaningful conversation with people. It is a safe space to be yourself.”
Jain said he has been a member of Quote Unquote from the beginning and knew several of the members from his high school in India.
“Initially we would all share stories from our past,” Jain said. “Someone would start a story, and because we mostly all knew each other very well, someone else would finish it. It was a good mix being able to talk about your story and hear others tell theirs, too.”
