For an hour each semester, a few professors from the Winona State University English and Film departments transform a classroom in Minné Hall into a self-serve tea and cookie station for their students. Clusters of students can be found spread throughout the room enjoying their beverages and sweet treats while conversing with faculty and peers. Most recently, students gathered in Minné Hall on Sept. 9, 2025 to kick off the fresh school year with members of their community.
Like many other organizations across the world, the group was born after the COVID-19 pandemic struck the globe and removed a sense of community from most spaces. Professor Debra Cumberland noticed the lack of community throughout her department and recognized that her students and fellow faculty needed a way to connect and socialize after the pandemic.
“Post COVID, I was thinking something like this was necessary because people kind of craved getting together,” Cumberland said. She mentioned the importance of this event and how meeting fellow department members was crucial for students and faculty alike. “Meeting is a way of understanding other people, connecting to the world, building empathy, and this is a place for that.”
Not only are faculty members like Cumberland positively impacted by the connections the event fosters, but students are as well. English major Jillian Tieskotter attended her first English and Film Tea Party earlier this semester. Tieskotter, a freshman, found that the tea party made it easy to get to know professors and students, which is exactly the point of the event.
“It’s a nice way for students to talk to faculty and other people in the same major,” Tieskotter said. “And [it’s nice to] get to know more people.”
The sense of connection that emerges from the event is no mistake; in fact, it is formulated. Prior to students arriving, faculty members arranged tables into small circles “to encourage intimacy,” according to Cumberland. By providing baked goods, a variety of teas and a place for people to gather, she has helped the English and Film community to flourish.
Often, life at Winona State is chaotic and stressful for students and faculty alike. Through the once-a-semester tea party, members of the Eng/Film department have the opportunity to take an hour-long break in the middle of the day to relax and connect with fellow department members. As Cumberland simply put it, “it’s a nice opportunity to have a relaxing cup of tea and chat with faculty and students.”
