This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Skidmore chapter.
Along with being one of the most recognizeable personalities around campus, Hector Biaggi has taken over as co-president of FightClub, Skidmore’s peer mediation group. Each year the club’s work expands even further, and Hector has the scoop on how he got involved and what’s coming up next.
Name: Hector Biaggi
Class Year: 2015
Hometown: Miami, FL
Majors: Sociology
HC: How did you first get involved with FightClub?HB: I got involved my sophomore year. The compliment cards caught my eye, but what kept me with FightClub was definitely how relaxed and chill the meetings and people were. From there, I learned a handy technique that has proved to be very useful and stuck with it.
HC: What’s your favorite thing you’ve done with the club so far?HB: I mentioned them already in the first question, but compliment cards. While not having anything directly related to mediation, one of the great things FightClub does is hand out little cards where one would write something nice to another person. Think Facebook Compliments, but handwritten and much more personal. We put them in the receiver’s mailboxes afterwards, and it’s just a nice, genuine thing to do. And it promotes open communication, which is totally what we’re all about. ^_^
HC: What do you like about being a mediator?HB: One thing that I absolutely adore is that the mediator doesn’t get at all involved in the participants’ conflicts. We say stay neutral the entire time, and at most only ask for clarification when needed. This way the participants find the solution on their own; the mediators simply help the people get to the solution. It’s so much more gratifying for both parties when they think of a solution, rather than someone telling them what they should do.
HC: How do you hope to impact the campus?HB: Hopefully, letting the students know that there’s a service out there that is actually more helpful than friends giving advice of what they would do in your situation. It’s really different when people listen without suggesting- you start listening to yourself instead. It’s something else.
HC: What would you suggest to anyone who wants to get involved in FightClub or mediation?
HB: Well, get involved! We have our weekly meetings 9-10PM in the ICC. If you’re interested, you can take ID-141 which is a mediation training course for one credit and New York state certification in mediation (though you don’t need that to come to the meetings!) If you or anyone you know wants to be mediated, drop on by our Open Hours on Sundays in the Office of Campus Life, or email us at mediate@skidmore.edu .