Students light the fire for conversation and relaxation in Ignite event

The Rieber Fireside Lounge seemed more like a popular coffee house than a dorm lounge to Richard Sambasivam.

As he took in the cozy effect of dim lighting, a stage by the fireplace and the steaming beverages, he admired his group’s handiwork. His excitement increased when the first students walked in.

Sambasivam, a first-year bioengineering student, worked with a fellow group of students to fire up Ignite, a new event on the Hill designed to give students the chance to meet through experiencing speeches and peer performances together.

The 12 organizers hope to provide students with a periodic break from weekly duties and stress, said Jonathan Chue, an organizer of the event and a second-year business economics student.

He said Ignite drew more participants than expected during its first meeting last week.

More than 50 students milled into the lounge either having heard about Ignite or while passing through the hall, Sambasivam said.

To break the ice and start introductions, Chue said the participants played games of rock-paper-scissors, which turned into a mini tournament as winners faced other winners and the rest rooted for remaining players.

Later, a student shared his own music and played cover songs for the crowd, and speaker Jason Jaggard took the stage to introduce a novel point of view on being thankful, Sambasivam said.

Jaggard indirectly played a role in fueling Ignite at UCLA.

In Los Angeles, he founded Sparks, a program that encourages a small group of people to ask themselves how to take one risk a week in an effort to improve the world or grow individually, said Lauren Grubaugh, a second-year Spanish student and a former Daily Bruin radio reporter.

In a week, Sparks participants may decide to do something simple like write a letter to someone from the past or something more complicated, like locate a biological parent.

Grubaugh said she started a Sparks group this fall on her floor in Rieber Hall, and the idea for Ignite originated from it.

Chue and Sambasivam joined Sparks for its standard five-week period, and along with other students, offered their support when Grubaugh told them about Ignite.

Determined, she approached the Rieber Hall Residents’ Association for permission and support, said Kenny Importante, assistant resident director of Rieber Hall.

Importante said he advised the association to support the event if students showed an interest.

“It looks like there is a good group of people who actually want to make it happen,” he said about last week’s meeting.

Ignite will be held Thursdays at 9 p.m. in the Fireside Lounge during even weeks of the quarter, and Grubaugh said the organizers are searching for a second location to make the event weekly.

Sambasivam said what started on a single floor in Rieber Hall has become a hall-wide event, and soon, it may become popular for the entire residential Hill.