This message, from Jose Garcia-Fuerte, Student Body President, was sent to students Sept. 30.
First, I can enthusiastically say that Fall Break is coming in two short weeks! Those are for you to use them as you’d like, but please do not forget about self-care. Spend some time both with your friends and alone—the tranquility of solitude often brings a peace of mind and being around others helps to reduce stress & anxiety. Additionally, as the weather begins to transition into the autumn and winter of our year, please remember to keep an extra watch on your health – flu season is here!
With the coming of the October holiday celebrations and themed socials, please remember to not engage in cultural appropriation. What exactly is cultural appropriation? Culture is defined as the beliefs, ideas, traditions, and material objects associated with a community of people. Appropriation is the illegal, unfair, or unjust taking of something that does not belong to an individual. Cultural appropriation then is the taking of “intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else’s culture. Cultural appropriation is harmful when the source community is a marginalized group that has been historically oppressed or exploited and the appropriator is a member of the “dominant” culture (Susan Scafidi, Professor of Law, Fordham University). As you begin to plan your costumes and fall outfits, please be conscious to not culturally appropriate and to hold others who do so, accountable.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or would just like to chat, please do not hesitate to reach out! My email is jose.garcia-fuerte@drake.edu and can also be reached at student.senate@drake.edu.
—Jose Garcia-Fuerte, Student Body President
Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Oct. 8 will mark the first Indigenous Peoples’ Day officially recognized by the 32nd Session of Drake University Student Senate and support in its efforts by the Drake Faculty Senate. Please refer below for a couple of set events meant to shine light on the topic. Stay tuned as more will come!
Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. in Sussman Theatre: Screening of “The Lost Nation: The Ioway” in partnership with United Way
Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. in Sussman Theatre: Lecture on Lakota Religious Beliefs and Practices, led by Timothy Knepper
New Members of the Student Senate
Please welcome the newest members of the 32nd session of Student Senate! They too should serve as a resource for all of you with any question, project or initiative.
Kasey Springsteen, Health & Safety Senator (kasey.springsteen@drake.edu)
Sarah Hutchison, First-Year Senator (sarah.hutchison@drake.edu)
SAB Band Relays Survey
If you have been at Drake for more than one year, you know that the Drake Relays Band is one of the most anticipated events of the year entirely put on by the Student Activities Board (SAB). Help SAB choose the artist/band for the Drake Relays concert in the Spring by filling out the survey below – your name (if you choose to give it) will be put in a drawing for a $25 gift card! Please reach out to President of Student Activities Board Giada Morresi (Giada.morresi@drake.edu) with questions!
tinyurl.com/sabrelayssurvey