Finding the Real Meaning of KUNA

By Emerson Harned, assistant editor

This conference may have once just been a place for students across the state to go with their friends, but over the past couple of years, the meaning of KUNA has changed for many.

The students went from debating the world’s most pressing issues online during the midst of a pandemic, to now being in person getting back to the sense of “normalcy”. Today I am talking to Abigail Quinn from the media corps to talk about what KUNA means to her.

Quinn explained her personal meaning of KUNA being “a sense of appreciation I never had before.” Before the pandemic, it was easy to not appreciate the conference to the extent students do now because no one imagined it would ever look so different. But, the Y giving all students the opportunity to be online and now back in person gave each person the opportunity to keep advocating and participating in the programs that mean most to them.

While talking about how her perspective has changed now that KUNA is back in person Quinn says, “Going from an in person conference to virtual feels like a little bit of the magic is taken away, so being back in person this year feels so special.” This year especially took on a whole new meaning to everyone, as it was the first time in two years we had been in person, debating in one room. The morale of the conference is high, and students are more than grateful to be raising their placards, taking pictures, and speaking at the front of the room.

To everyone, the meaning of KUNA has changed over the years, whether it’s big or small. KUNA may be a way for students to learn about what is going on in the world, but in the big picture, KUNA is a way for students to work together, meet new people, and become the leaders they want to be. KUNA still has a different meaning to everyone, as it has impacted each person differently, but that meaning is still strong to each person that walks through the Galt House doors.