For the past five to six weeks, senior Stephanie Longmire has been hosting discussions at The Common Good on Sunday that cover topics that would be deemed as uncomfortable by many.

The discussion, called “Pancakes in the Raw,” is meant to be a safe time and space where different people can come together to discuss things such as eating disorders, different religions, race and other taboo topics. It is called “Pancakes in the Raw” because pancakes are served during the discussion.

The Common Good, on 113 Crim St., is a place where anyone can go and talk, hang out and participate in scheduled activities. The discussion on Sunday afternoon at the Common Good was centered around black culture.

“The whole idea came about from the ‘black topic,’” Longmire said, “I’m the only black person here and they ask me a lot of questions about black people.”

She wanted people to take away more than just her opinions and her life experiences, so she decided to invite different people to come and share their experiences.

“The world is so vastly different,” Longmire said, “I just want people to listen and understand the world outside of their own head.”

The front room of The Common Good was filled with both people curious about black culture, stereotypes, terminology and the usage of the N-word and those who were willing to answer questions.

A majority of the attendees were students from the University. Some faculty members were also in attendance, but the discussion was open to the public.

Kevin Lewis, Black Student Union president, attended Sunday’s meeting but wasn’t pleased with the lack of ethnic people who attended.

“I think more people of different races needed to be there,” Lewis said. “It’s definitely a starting point and doesn’t need to stop there.”

A few members of the Bowling Green community, such as Megan Sutherland, were also in attendance.

“I appreciated coming out of that seclusion of I guess being white,” Sutherland said, “I was able to delve into an experience,”

Sutherland frequents the Sunday discussions, but this one in particular caught her interest.

“Racism happens all the time in town,” Sutherland said, “I made it a point to come to this.”

Longmire was happy with the turnout, but did mention that she was hoping to attract a certain ratio between races.

“I wish there were more white people here,” Longmire said, “I was actually hoping that there would be more white people than black people.”

Though a minority was the majority in the room on this particular afternoon, Longmire, and attendees, were happy with the discussion.

“I’m really glad Stephanie started Pancakes in the Raw,” Sutherland said. “It’s real, it’s not fluffy or anything like that.”

The discussions are hosted at 1 p.m. every Sunday at The Common Good. They are open to everyone.​