Eight students from the Global Studies program showed documentaries that they made about important global issues at the first annual Screen on the Green event in Thatcher Commons.

Typically, these documentaries have been shown in classrooms or during chapel, but this year, they wanted to showcase these documentaries in a more formal setting.

“We finally wanted to make make our program more known, but also, educate others,” senior Lilley Washburn said. “We spent a lot of time in researching these global issues, our passions, and we want to share them with the school.”

The Screen on the Green was open to students, faculty, parents and the community.

“I was really nervous at first; I didn’t know if a lot of people would come, but everyone’s been so positive and everyone’s spoken positively about what they learned, so it’s been a fun experience,” senior Emily Edwards said.

Students studied countries from Sweden to Costa Rica to South Korea and focused on issues from religion to the environment to food. Students had to study their issue, speak to locals and create a documentary showcasing their issue.

“It was stressful, honestly. I’m not a very artistic person, so it was definitely difficult for me, but now it’s a skill that I have and will be able to do later on and in college if I have to,” senior Ansley McCoy said. “It’s something that I’m proud of. I spent a lot of time and effort making the documentary, so now I know how to do that.”

Students had to become experts on their topic and had to learn a lot about both their issue and their country.

“I guess I never really realized how big of an influence food had in people’s lives, and it’s not just about eating or connecting with who you’re with,” McCoy said. It really does offend people when you think that they eat tacos in Spain or stuff like that.”

The eight documentaries shown were enjoyed and sparked conversations after the showing.

“I thought that everyone who showed their documentaries put forth a very good effort, and you could tell that they had worked very hard on it,” junior Olivia Harper said. “It’s really hard to go to another country, especially if you don’t speak the language, and be able to dive into core issues.”