Advocacy Club Dakota

In proposing his new club, the SGA met Dakota with resistance and concerns about Pantheon’s events and practices. People on the board had some preconceived notions about Paganism. Many of the board members asked somewhat ridiculous questions: Do you sacrifice animals? Do you drink blood? Dakota seemed passive in mentioning this, reasoning that he expected such questions because “people don’t really know what this stuff is”. He encouraged their questions, so the board members could clearly understand the inner workings of the club. Following this questioning before the board, the Pagan Advocacy Club’s constitution was taken before the President’s Cabinet. Ultimately, they ruled in favor of the club’s creation, but decided that it needed a name

Dakota wanted to make Pagans more comfortable with their beliefs and practices on campus through Pantheon. He also wanted to create awareness and understanding within the non-Pagan students and staff. In the before-meeting interview, he mentioned seeing some of a change with this already, such as when “Pantheon was invited to do tarot readings for Harry Potter Month; it went extremely well and the entire place was filled with people waiting for readings”. Additionally, after Dakota answered the SGA’s questions and explained the motivations of the club, the board members became less opposed. When the President’s Cabinet requested a name change, the SGA actually “said maybe you should try and push it forth anyway”. Other religious clubs on campus have also agreed to collaborate with Pantheon for events in the future. This sense of religious unity among Paganism and other religions was one of Dakota’s main goals for Pantheon. The fact that he has already seen change in the attitudes and behaviors of people on campus following—and during—the creation of the club speaks volumes for its influence now and in the future. Even in a very open, public park in downtown St. Augustine, the members of Pantheon felt comfortable enough to participate in a ceremony and meditate while cars and people passed. This suggests the Pantheon community has made positive change in some Flagler students with Pagan beliefs, making them more comfortable practicing their beliefs in public. Additionally, during the Pantheon meeting, a girl mentioned that when you are Pagan, “if you’re in a community of people who have the same meanings as you, then I think it’s easier”. I tried to depict this sense of comfort and unity through arrangement of the photographs, since “the aim of ethnographic film is to preserve, in the mind of the viewer, the structure of the events it is recording as