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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

Events and Tourism Review                                     
 
June 2022                                                                                                                                                 Volume 5 No. 1      

   

 

Planning Jagathon: Commitment and Social Identities 

 

 
Huilin Bao 
 

Maddie McConnell 
 

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis 

Correspondence: baov@iu.edu (H. Bao) 

 

 
 

 

 

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Recommended Citation 

Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell (2022). Planning Jagathon: Commitment and Social 

Identities. Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 16-28.  

 

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Bao, H. & McConnell, M. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 16-28. 
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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Abstract 

 

Jagathon has been one of the most significant events at IUPUI which is hosted and planned by 

IUPUI students. The study used social identity theory to indicate the planning process of Jagathon’s 

influences on Jagathon planners. The researchers conducted a qualitative study by interviewing 8 

Jagathon planners. The results of the research showed that social identities can be enhanced through 

the planning of Jagathon as planners have gained self-development and found themselves more 

committed to IUPUI and themselves. The researchers also found that diversity can lead to increased 

participation. Based on the findings, this study provides some discussions about how IUPUI can 

enhance students’ experience and engagement on campus and increase students’ long-term 

commitment to IUPUI. 

 

Keywords: Social Identity, Students’ Commitment and Engagement, IUPUI, Jagathon, Diversity 
 

 

 

 

 

Planning Jagathon: Commitment and Social Identities 

How a university affects the cognitive well-being of its students during and well after college 

has been a developing topic of interest (Weidman, 1989). More specifically, the social facet of 

college becomes the primary reason students resonate with a university and the entities within it. 

People, in this case students, all socially identify themselves with something or someone. Meaning 

students feel a great sense of belonging and are content with who they are when associated with a 

given group, brand, or organization. Henri Tajfel, a well-known psychologist, calls this the social 

identity theory (McLeod, 2019). This theory clearly presents itself within the planning and 

executing of Jagathon, a 15-hour dance marathon hosted by IUPUI, with the purpose of fundraising 

and bringing awareness to pediatric research (IUPUI Student Foundation, 2022). Jagathon 

specifically caters to children at Riley Children’s Hospital, and has been serving and inspiring them 

for over 20 years (IUPUI Student Foundation, 2022). The event is bigger than dancing for money, it 

is a continuous movement of hope driven by passion, and all planned by students on campus that 

perhaps have the most passion to keep the tradition alive. 

IUPUI dedicates an entire class to the planning and organization of Jagathon, filled with 

twenty-five students with various backgrounds and lifestyles (IUPUI Student Foundation, 2022). 

The researchers will target this diverse group of students to ultimately demonstrate that diverse 

populations can identify with similar groups. Due to the focus in such a diverse and interactive 

environment, the aim of this research is to find out each student's cognitive relationship to Jagathon 

with the purpose of emphasizing the importance of extracurricular activities and their direct effect 

on alumni retention and new student recruitment. This can be viewed as the ongoing cycle of 

student involvement, and with this study, the researchers want to discover if Jagathon can be an 

effective tool for the cycle. 

First, the research will take a deeper dive into the demographic picture of the Jagathon 

executive board. What is their position on the board, gender, ethnicity, and education level? From 

there the research aims to interpret the students’ motivations and constraints of planning Jagathon. 

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Bao, H. & McConnell, M. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 16-28. 
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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

What are they and why? Why do they dedicate their time? Once these questions are answered, the 

research dissects our ultimate research questions:  

● How does a planner’s involvement in Jagathon affect their social identity to IUPUI and 

Jagathon itself?    

● How has the planning experience affected their long term commitment to IUPUI and 

Jagathon? 

The above questions guide the research to ultimately identify various reasons for 

extracurricular involvement, distinguish the disconnect between social identity and social gaps, and 

explain the importance of alumni retention. It is important to achieve such objectives because the 

longevity of IUPUI programming and student groups is essential for enticing purposes as new 

students arrive on campus, and retention purposes for alumni impact after earning a degree. The 

research should fill the social gap that is present in students who struggle to identify with something 

or someone here at IUPUI as the study can be an advocate for Jagathon, and unveil why social 

identity is present in the Jagathon planners. 

While the research will indicate the demographic and cognitive make-up of Jagathon 

planners, it is also going to provide insight on one’s attachment to a sole event and why. The 

findings will supply a better understanding of the cognitive relationship between the planning 

experience and the students, as the researchers are on a quest to discover each of the planners’ 

reasons for commitment and identification. The research will discuss the importance of student 

involvement and how it relates to the overall growth and sustainability of IUPUI’s heartfelt event.  

This study will be using a deductive approach while dissecting the social identity theory. 

With this, the results of the study will interpret how various students at IUPUI mentally and 

emotionally identify with Jagathon and how it can contribute to student commitment to the 

university long after graduation. Overall, the goal is for this research to assist IUPUI in meeting and 

exceeding its students’ social needs. It is essential for IUPUI to have a sense of belonging for 

students, as the students can identify with something or someone that will always resonate with 

them, like Jagathon.  

A Theoretical Framework 

This study exists to evaluate the people behind Jagathon. It is set out to reveal their motives 

for planning and how their planning experience influences their social identities while at IUPUI. 

The study develops a conceptual model while highlighting the social identity theory. With this 

theory, the research will provide a more thorough understanding of the catalysts that kickstarted the 

executive board’s involvement and how Jagathon resonates with them so much that they socially 

identify with this group. In turn, the study will indicate the possibilities of a long-term commitment 

to IUPUI for students well beyond graduation and the commonality of interest within diverse 

populations. Ultimately researchers want to unpack how involvement initiates the social 

identification process within university students. 

Social identity theory proposes that people characterize who they are by affiliating 

themselves into social groups (Fujita, Harrigan, Soutar, 2018). In fact, social identity is often 

compared to group identity. Rightfully so, as they both imbricate under the identity theory. Group 

refers to the membership in a community of specified others, like a school or organization (Davis, 

Love, Faris, 2019). On the other hand, social denotes an individual's position within the overall 

social structure, like race, age, and gender (Davis, Love, Faris, 2019). The two identities represent a 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

single unit and best explain how identities are multifaceted and involve individual, interpersonal, 

and social processes rooted in social structures (Davis, Love, Faris, 2019). Once these identities are 

pertinent within an experience, individuals begin to validate their affiliation by finding meaning 

through group interaction (Davics, Love, Faris). In other words, once an individual is aware of their 

social identification with a group they start to distinguish how and why that is the case. This is a 

direct reflection of what the researchers intend to do while studying the affiliation of student 

planners of Jagathon and IUPUI. 

With all that said, the social identity theory consists of three components: cognitive, 

affective, and evaluative. All of which are initiated in various situations and involve people who are 

willing to represent a group at the highest level, while being the best of its kind (Fujita, Harrigan, 

Soutar, 2018). Cognitive refers to the self-awareness one has of their group affiliation. Affective, 

referring to the commitment and emotional bond to their group, resulting in a sense of belonging, 

enthusiasm, and pride. Evaluative, referring to an affiliate's perspective of how the outsiders view 

the group; in turn, being a self-esteem booster for the affiliate. All of these aspects of social 

identification arise from meaningful interactions where people establish meanings through verbal 

and nonverbal exchanges which includes the social channel of shared ideas, values, and traditions 

(Fujita, Harrigan, Soutar, 2018).  Similar to how identifying with a sports team can enhance 

traditions and experience, identifying with a renowned event can enhance rituals and establish 

history. Furthermore, people’s identity with an organization intensifies when it is apparent their 

affiliation opens doors for other prime social roles (Fujita, Harrigan, Soutar, 2018). With that said, 

students may identify with IUPUI more when taking a lead role in Jagathon makes them feel heavily 

supported. With this, the diverse group of students that make up the Jagathon executive board, 

become influencers on campus. Meaning inclusivity is present when historically underrepresented 

communities feel like they belong. What makes this phenomenon even more unique is the longevity 

of the affiliation attached to that belongingness.   

Methodology 

The current literature raises the question as to if and how social identity theory is present in a 

college environment and how that may affect students’ commitment to a given institution.  Using an 

ontological approach, this overall question is best acknowledged within a qualitative design to 

develop insight of student belongingness within Jagathon and on IUPUI’s campus. The researchers 

noticed that the understanding of students’ cognitive motivations needed to be understood while the 

reasonings behind these motivations were discovered. Consequently, this research was constructed 

phenomenologically, meaning the researchers set out to explore human experience with a 

phenomenon, in this case, Jagathon (Creswell, 2012). This idea dialed in on consciousness within an 

experience such as an individual's judgments, perceptions, and emotions; simply put how an 

experience made one feel (Connelly 2010). This idea also dialed in on what causes those feelings 

and how the feelings are maintained. A phenomenological form of study has become a rather 

popular research perspective to learn about an experience in the humanistic and social science 

regimens (Jamal, Pernecky 2010). This construct allowed the researchers to depict subjects’ level of 

attachment to and involvement within the social experience at hand.  

Data Collection 

The study presented the viewpoints of students who were 18 years of age or older, IUPUI 

students or alumni, and affiliates of the Jagathon planning team. Also, all interviewees were either 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

past or present Jagathon executive board members. A sample size of eight interviews was conducted 

for the study, with four students from historically underrepresented communities and four Caucasian 

students. There were a plethora of reasons the previously mentioned criteria was used for the 

researchers’ interviewees. First, though there are dance marathons nationwide, Jagathon is 

specifically unique to IUPUI and its student body. Second, the study was exclusive to only present 

and former Jagathon planning team members because they were immersed in the year round 

experience as opposed to future executive board candidates. Third, the four dedicated interviewee 

slots for historically underrepresented populations are essential for the researchers to indicate the 

power of student involvement and fusing diverse populations.  

Snowball and purposive sampling were used for this study, as the interviewees were 

recruited through the researchers’ professional and personal networks, while having subjects allude 

to additional interviewees. The eight participants ranged from underclassmen, upperclassmen, and 

alumni from various academic departments across the university campus. As a result of the 

researchers’ concentration in event tourism studies, and the networks that were built within those 

studies, the researchers were able to schedule the initial interviews with simplicity. With the use of 

snowball sampling, the remaining participants would follow along with their varying profiles. The 

interview participants were within the age range of 19-23. Of the eight participants three obtained 

their bachelor’s degree, while five were still pursuing theirs. Six interviewees were female-

identifying individuals and two were male-identifying. A detailed breakdown of the interviewee 

sample profile can be found in Table 1.1. Uniquely enough, two interviewees were not only IUPUI 

affiliates, but Riley Children Hospital affiliates as well, whether it be as a patient or a relative of 

one. Lastly, three of the eight respondents participated in dance marathon planning in high school. 

These stats contribute highly to the motivational and diverse aspects of the study. Throughout the 

remainder of this study, all participants’ confidentiality are secured as the researchers will address 

them with the use of numerical labels. 

Table 1.1 Interview Sample Profile  
Variable Frequency % 

Gender    

     Male 2 25 

     Female 6 75 

Education   

     High School/Some college 5 62.5 

     Bachelor’s Degree 3 37.5 

Ethnicity   

     White 4 50 

     African American 1 12.5 

     Asian American 

     Hispanic 

     Indian 

1 

1 

1 

12.5 

12.5 

12.5 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

     Others 0 0 

Age   

     18-20 

     21-23 

4 

4 

50 

50 

 

This methodology was used as a result of the structure of Jagathon’s planning team. A 

diverse group of students designated an entire class to plan this well-known campus event. The 

researchers received the class roster from IUPUI faculty, along with past e-board members and 

purposely selected interviewees from that roster. To pursue the planners’ motives for Jagathon 

leadership, the researchers structured interview questions that help define social identity aspects to 

be explored, while also allowing the researcher and interviewee to elaborate and diverge if needed. 

The interview includes the following sections:(1) basic demographic information (2) planning 

experience of Jagathon (3) motivations of planning Jagathon (4) social identifiers and feelings (5) 

impact of social identity through the Jagathon experience.  

 

The interview questions are as follows:  

Demographic 

1. Can you tell me your age, gender, ethnicity, education level? 

2. Can you tell me your involvement with Jagathon?  

a. Participation 

b. Involvement 

c. Reasons to participate in Jagathon 

Planning experience of Jagathon 

3. Have you participated in Jagathon before becoming a member of the executive board? 

4. What other things do you do on campus?  

Motivations 

5. How/Why did you get involved in Jagathon? 

6. What is the biggest motivation for you to host Jagathon? 

Social identifiers & feelings 

7. How does Jagathon make you feel as an IUPUI member? 

a. Do you feel Jagathon makes you more committed to IUPUI? 

b. Do you feel a sense of belonging or achievement? 

c. Do you feel proud?  

8. What does Jagathon mean to you? 

a. Does Jagathon help you with self actualization? 

b. Does Jagathon help you Increase self-esteem? 

c. Does Jagathon offer you a self-defining moment? Self-identification 

9. Do you feel related to the group of executive boards of Jagathon? 

Impact of the experience 

10. After the completion of Jagathon, do you feel more committed to yourself or to the group?  

11. Do you feel empowered through the planning of the Jagathon? 

a. As a minority? - This portion will be added above for the 4 historically 

underrepresented students. 

b. Do you think Jagathon is a diverse and inclusive event?  

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

12. Do you plan to stay connected with Jagathon after this year/graduate? 

13. What are the biggest challenges for you to host Jagathon? 

14. Extra comments? 

 
As displayed above, the questionnaire included many open-ended and unbiased questions 

that allowed for true, authentic comments by all participants. Some questions were followed by 

probes for elaboration purposes, so researchers could gather a full understanding of Jagathon 

planners’ motivations and momentous thoughts. The interviews were conducted via Zoom under a 

semi-structured format and ranged from 10-30 minutes in duration, with the average interview 

length being 15 minutes. From the interview recordings, participant responses were transcribed 

through the Zoom platform. Prior to dissecting and analyzing the transcribed content, the 

researchers individually verified each script to reflect the interviewees responses. 

Data Analysis 

To analyze the data the researchers conducted a thematic analysis, which is the process of 

identifying patterns or themes within qualitative data (Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). A thematic 

analysis is a very flexible method and considered very advantageous for researchers due to the  

diversity of research that is conducted (Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). The analysis flow chart is 

described in Figure 1. Based on Braun & Clarke’s six-step framework to conduct a thematic analysis 

the researchers performed these steps. First, the researchers became familiar with each transcript 

(four each), as they read the transcript line by line numerous times and made note of any intriguing 

responses that were found. Then the researchers organized the data in a significant way through 

coding common terms, ideas, and phrases (Beamon 2010). Next the researchers, as a collective, 

modified the codes into themes, which are patterns that are characterized by their significance 

(Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). From there, the coding and theming continued until new themes were 

absent from the interviews. The major themes that were evident after coding were commitment, skill 

enhancement, connections, empathy, personal development, and evolution. As sub-themes presented 

themselves the researchers further dissected the data accordingly. Following the acquiring of 

themes, the researchers created a write-up that properly portrayed the analysis along with the 

subjects’ feelings, motivations, and social identifiers of Jagathon. 

Figure 1. 

 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

 

Findings 

A total of eight individuals participated in this qualitative study and their demographic 

information can be found in Table 1.1. Many researchers have noted that student involvement has 

played a pivotal role in a balanced and enjoyable college experience. It has also been said that 

getting involved creates a sense of belonging on campus for students, and this study confirms these 

findings (College Data, 2020).  

Motivations 

The participant responses were direct and noted that Jagathon was an event that embraced 

the meaning of impactful experiences. From that, the most common motivations were proved to be 

helping the children, the emotional high during the event, and the people that make the event 

possible. Participant 5 explained wanting to find something that resonated with him on campus and 

finding that after the atmosphere of Jagathon filled him with great emotion. Motivated by 

identification is evidence that Jagathon can be a great extracurricular activity to create belonging 

during a student’s college career:  

Once I got to experience [Jagathon] . . . being in that atmosphere and in that 

environment . . . the emotions it's like a whole other experience when you're actually 

there. . . I was like yeah, this is my thing. 

As for other respondents, being surrounded by different people from all walks of life while 

planning was a riveting time for them and very beneficial. Participant 8 mentioned how she thrived 

off those differences: 

One of my biggest motivators were the people . . . because everyone is so different . . . 

we all have different majors, from different schools, from different walks of life. 

When asked why they wanted to get involved, Participant 2 emphasized the children and 

displayed a great example of empathy, while Participant 3 described empathy and her why that is 

way beyond the monetary value. Their responses are listed in order respectfully: 

The kids that are having a harder time than you are that don't have the regular kid life 

that we possibly grew up with they're sitting in hospital rooms waiting for good news 

[and] bad news treatments, they don't know what's going to be happening next. 

They're going through this experience with heart and understanding why they're doing 

is just really a large part of my why and helps me see the other side of research and 

how it's being conducted. 

Although not all participants had the same motivations, as expected, all participants 

dedicated their motivation for planning Jagathon to their surroundings and witnessing the experience 

first-hand. That experience initiated each self-identification process for the participants, and 

contributed to their enjoyable college experiences. 

Feelings 

 When the questions were themed around the feelings Jagathon brought to the participants 

and how those feelings contributed to their affiliation to IUPUI, a sense of belonging and 

discovering passion were evident in these discussions. Several participants identified their personal 

and professional development taking place during the planning process. Others expressed the 

community Jagathon created. Both resulted in the event generating meaningful and purposeful 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

outcomes. More specifically, Participant 7 defined what the community and passion recipe delivered 

for her: 

It meant a lot to me . . .  I always felt like this was a community, a family . . . I found 

my passion through [Jagathon] as well . . . I started volunteering at Riley.  

One respondent highlighted what literature suggests; how most students are craving for 

something or someone to identify with during their young adulthood. Participant 5 described his 

want to find a place he enjoyed, then realizing he belonged within the Jagathon community: 

It definitely increased my sense of belonging with IUPUI . . . I went the first three 

months not finding something I truly enjoyed . . . but I was really just looking for that 

thing, and I did. I'm so glad that I found that thing.  

Participant 5 also reinforced that once a student is aware of who or what they identify with, it 

makes decision making quite simpler. Take the decision to transfer schools for example:  

I was going to transfer because I changed my major . . . but one of my main 

motivations for staying at IUPUI was Jagathon. 

When Participants 2 and 4 were asked about what Jagathon meant to them in regards to their 

future careers, they both emphasized the importance of the planning experience and its impact. Their 

responses are listed below respectively: 

Jagathon has definitely influenced me for my future career, possibly wanting to do 

fundraising events for nonprofits, especially children’s hospitals. 

I definitely know that as of right now it's a group, but I definitely will take these 

aspects that I've learned and to future jobs. 

 Overall planning Jagathon meant longevity, whether it be future careers, continued 

friendships, or expanded networks. This highlighted the cognitive relationship the respondents have 

with Jagathon, as it created a purpose bigger than the present, but beyond graduation. 

Commitment 

 Several references were made to the participants’ commitment to their fellow board 

members, themselves, and Jagathon as a whole. Six out of eight interviewees honed in on their 

commitment to the group due to the ample amount of time spent together. The remaining two 

shared their gratitude for the group but extreme gratitude for the person they have become 

because of the group, because of Jagathon. As an agent of social identity, the commitment 

aspect has placed students around others they would not have engaged with otherwise. 

Participant 1 discussed her relationship with her fellow executive members: 

My division and my five directors, they are my best friends. Jagathon has given me my 

absolute best friends.  

This type of socialization makes commitment even more apparent in the Jagathon setting. A 

part of this commitment is growth and learning more about who you are, but what the students did 

not realize until they were fully immersed in the experience is the effect the group has had on their 

commitment to themselves. For example, Participant 6 defines this idea in her response: 

I am committed to how much the organization has made me grow and how much I 

have gained from the organization. 

The idea of commitment can be the result of numerous things, and Participant 8 revealed a 

few of those ideas through her response:  

I felt very connected to everyone, and everyone was very supportive and helpful. 

Support and assistance are what keep people going through times of adversary, and these 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

factors worked to commit the participants to Jagathon. In turn, emphasizing the community that was 

built leaving a lasting legacy on the Jagathon reputation. This gives largely to the student 

involvement cycle essential for alumni retention and new student recruitment. 

Impact  

 The impact section of the questionnaire was designed to discover self-defining moments, 

feelings of empowerment, and ultimately reveal if those instances were impactful enough to stay 

connected to Jagathon well after graduation. In fact, all respondents viewed the planning experience 

as exceedingly impactful. One respondent described her empowering moment as being in control of 

the outcome: 

I feel empowered just because we are given the autonomy to make our position, what 

we want it to be, and to set our goals. 

Others felt empowered by the impact of their presence on the executive board. Participant 5 

described how he being on the board was more than just for his benefit, but so his presence could be 

impactful for many beneficiaries. His response to his post-planning feeling is described below: 

I feel very empowered that I was able to be a more inclusive face. 

Inclusivity was, and will continue to be, an aspect of change for the Jagathon community. As 

change occurred, it is clear that the students are encouraged by the differences they are making 

outside of the realm of fundraising, but for social change as well within an organization they 

identify with.  

 All participants also mentioned their desire to somehow stay involved with Jagathon and 

IUPUI after graduation. With the future unknown for most (5 out of 8 respondents) they were 

optimistic and hopeful to sustain the meaningful affiliation they acquired with Jagathon. The 

remaining three have since graduated and still are affiliated with the organization. Participant 1 

discussed her aspiration to stay involved, while Participant 7 discusses her current affiliate post-

graduation: 

I plan on becoming a member of our alumni society, so we have a pretty big base of 

our alumni that come together on the board, they have a president, just like we do on 

the alumni society, all the way down, so I definitely plan on staying involved. 

I am a part of the alumni association  . . . I’m still connected   . . . I’m still supporting 

committee members. 

These responses have reflected literature and generated the importance of involvement 

and the profound impact on a student’s cognitive and emotional connection to their university 

of choice (Reichner, 2019). For all participants, Jagathon has been an ingrained part of their 

college experience because of the unique impact it left on each one differently.  

Challenges 

 The challenges the respondents faced showed their resilience to maintain their commitment, 

but also their dedication to an identification tool, in this case Jagathon, that they only want to see 

enhance and advance. All things considered, adversity and obstacles were inevitable when planning 

a renowned event. It took trust within the built community to maintain the desired outcome. From 

the collected data, peak challenges within the Jagathon planning experience were diversity and event 

awareness. Participant 5 defined the concern of many students not knowing what Jagathon was: 

It's been really hard to engage people who don't know what [we] do. . . trying to 

emulate past years, where we made such big strides and big impact . . trying to tell 

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Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

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people why they should be a part of something they haven't seen or heard about at all. 

While in a time where a worldwide pandemic has limited the occurrences of events for over 

two years, IUPUI students were stripped of the opportunity to witness a meaningful event in 

Jagathon. This best explains the responses given about the biggest obstacles student planners had to 

overcome. In some ways, credibility was lost leaving room for any form of interpretation. On the 

other hand, diversity was not only an event concern, but nationwide concern that needed to be 

implemented in all aspects.  Participant 5 and 8 recalled some moments of uncertainty and the 

presence of microaggressions: 

I think we need to work on including minorities . . . and just take away that external 

stereotype like you have to be a certain way [to participate]. 

So it’s definitely weird sometimes like looking around the room and there’s not a lot 

of people of color in our group.   

These responses underlined that there is always room for growth, even within established 

organizations. There is always someone who is oblivious to what an organization does, and there is 

always an opportunity to be better than the year before. The researchers gathered that specifically 

from the respondents from historically underrepresented populations. With that said, for social 

identification to candidly take place all must feel welcome, and the respondents were willing to 

accommodate that need.  

Discussion and Conclusions 

To indicate if Jagathon planners’ involvement would affect the planners’ social identity and 

their long-term commitment to the planning process and the institution were the ultimate goals of 

this research. The major findings of the interviewees’ responses are presented in Figure 2, as the 

details will further indicate the conceptual model to be true. 

 The findings of the interview indicated that the social identity theory does play a dominant 

role in student involvement at IUPUI and increased their self-realization. All of the interviewees 

mentioned that during the planning process of Jagathon, they felt empowered and witnessed 

glimpses of self-development. After the completion of Jagathon, planners felt a sense of pride in 

themselves and within the event itself. Overall, this study displays that student involvement is linked 

to the prolonged commitment to a university, and Jagathon is an effective tool for this idea. 

Ultimately, Jagathon became the main cause for the planners coming to campus and one of the 

major, if not only, activities they take part in at IUPUI. Through the planning of Jagathon, 

participants made life-long friends as affiliates and became a family. Respondents expanded their 

networks and discovered their passions, as these leadership positions prepared them for future 

endeavors. With that said, interviewees’ professional skills developed including leadership, 

communication, and time management skills. Throughout the entire planning process of Jagathon, 

planners were working in teams, and discovered the essential need for differences. Planners need to 

work with different people from different backgrounds and leadership styles. Which, in turn, leads 

to the importance of diversity in group atmospheres. The findings within this study showed that 

individuals from diverse populations can socially identify with the same groups. The Jagathon 

planning team represents the diverse and inclusive efforts that have been made over time; 

nonetheless, the atmosphere shall keep evolving. Change will come, and the opportunity that it 

brings is enlightening. All in all, the findings of this study support the original conceptual model in 

Table 1.2, which indicates that Jagathon is a catalyst for introductory and sustained commitment to 

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Bao, H. & McConnell, M. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 16-28. 
27 

Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

IUPUI. It is through the social identity theory where legacies can be left and impact can be felt when 

students feel like they belong.  

 
Figure 2 

 
Limitations 

The limitations of this research can be universal to many qualitative studies. The small 

sample size that researchers conducted, is a valid critique. Small sample sizes might affect the 

outcomes of the results. Since the outcomes are from a small sample, it’s hard to generalize a larger 

population and use the results to represent the whole population of the study, in this case every 

individual that has planned or will plan a Jagathon. With small sample size, it is also hard to indicate 

the new themes of the research as there’s limitations of the number of the interview participants. As 

researchers recruit for research participants, it is highly likely that there will be selection bias. Using 

snowball sampling might affect the diversity of the interviewees and backgrounds. Additionally, this 

study is finished within the IUPUI Jagathon planning team, which can only represent the Jagathon 

event only, there are no competing events that have been conducted or mentioned in this study.  

For future research and studies, first, researchers should start researching with a larger 

population to ensure the diverse nature of the interviewees. Secondly, researchers should consider 

developing hypotheses with the research questions to conduct and indicate future results. Thirdly, 

the interview was conducted after the completion of Jagathon, the researchers should try to conduct 

the interview before, during and after the event to see if there’s any changes of the interviewee’s 

social identities during those times. There is an opportunity to create a larger alumni society within 

Jagathon from this research. This can advocate for the long-term impact that Jagathon has brought to 

them and the planning of their experience.  

The interviews were conducted in Spring 2022, when Jagathon had recovered from the 

COVID-19 pandemic, which Jagathon hosted virtually in 2021. Students campus-wide were lacking 

information about Jagathon, and the participation rate in both planning and attending may have been 

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Bao, H. & McConnell, M. (2022) / Events and Tourism Review, 5(1), 16-28. 
28 

Events and Tourism Review Vol. 5 No. 1 (2022), 16-28, DOI: 10.18060/26303                                                                                                  

               Copyright © 2022 Huilin Bao and Maddie McConnell 

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 

 

 

affected because of it. Now with secure control over the virus, the Jagathon planning team is 

presented the opportunity to rewrite their story and leave a lasting impact. With that said, a future 

study can be conducted to measure the length of commitment dedicated to Jagathon from the 

descriptive results of the current study.  

 

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