By Carly Anderson ’24

Our lives are finite. There was a day when we took our first breath and there will inevitably be a day when we take our last breath. While this may dull life down to a simple timeline with a beginning and end, the time in between–where you and I are right now— rarely offers any space to discuss the universal human experience of mortality. People would rather focus on where we are right now and bringing up death is viewed as grim and uncomfortable. Talking about death and dying is taboo in this society, yet thinking about it is very common and to be expected. People often grapple with the thought of existentialism alone when it could be processed together. 

Talking about death and dying is taboo in this society, yet thinking about it is very common and to be expected. People often grapple with the thought of existentialism alone when it could be processed together.

The original Death Café was created in the United Kingdom by Jon Underwood and Sue Barsky Reid in 2011. They were inspired by sociologist Bernard Crettaz, who started Café Mortal in Switzerland. The goal of Death Café is to give people space to talk about death, dying, and life in an open-minded environment where people can share and listen. A comfortable atmosphere with refreshments combats the idea that death can only be discussed in strictly medical and religious settings. Because of their vision to make conversations around death casual, Death Café invites people to host their own Death Cafés which has led to it becoming an international phenomenon. 

The first person to suggest hosting a Death Café at St. Olaf was Gloriana Ye ‘24. After hearing Gloriana’s proposal, I was captivated by the idea and asked to assist her in planning the event. It came at a time when I found myself overwhelmed by the impermanence of life but also afraid of the permanence of death. In educational atmospheres like St. Olaf, students are encouraged to examine their world view. After the first Death Café at St. Olaf concluded in the spring, students came to us excited about the prospect of attending more Death Cafés. With this in mind, Sophia Bloch ‘24 and I planned the second St. Olaf Death Café this semester and were pleased to learn that students were once again interested in participating.

The Death Café space is sacred and offers room for these conversations in a world where they generally aren’t encouraged.

People choose to  attend the Death Café for a wide variety of reasons: they are curious about what it is, the topics are relevant to their vocational pursuits, or they may have a specific question or concern that they are trying to make sense of. The Death Café space is sacred and offers room for these conversations in a word where they generally aren’t encouraged. Through hosting the Death Café, my co-facilitators and I’ve found that it fills an unmet need on campus. People benefit from sharing intimate thoughts and concerns they face as mortal beings, ideas are bounced off each other, new perspectives bring peace of mind, and being vulnerable with strangers produces a sense of community.