By Samuel Chipman
` The month of March is always a jam-packed time for the Campus Activities Board (CAB), holding events every week and creating new traditions in the ever changing dynamic COVID-19 has presented to the student body.
CAB was determined to offer students a week of relief even though Spring Break was cancelled. During the time that would have been scheduled for Spring Break, CAB held a “Stress Relief Week” where programs were held each day of the week during March 15-21.
President of CAB, Kevin Sharpe, stated, “We have a different event each day. Monday is
Mental Health Monday, where we have food and we have different objects like plates to write down issues on a plate then destroy the plate. Tuesday, we have a wall where you can throw paint to make a scene on the wall; we also have gourmet grilled cheese. Wednesday is our St. Patty’s grab and go, with cannolis and Murphy’s Mobile food truck. Thursday is our anti-anxiety grab-n-go, with donuts. Friday is 2000’s night, a huge night of throwbacks. And Sunday is our Axe-throwing trip.”
With seemingly endless creative ideas, CAB has persevered through the new challenges of COVID-19 by holding anti-stress events to ease the minds and hearts of our fellow Golden Bears. For many students, the transition to virtual classes, loss of practice time on sports teams, and absence of a Spring Break has brought on an enormous amount of stress and anxiety. CAB has done their best in easing that stress through their March programs by allowing for a time and space for students to be engaged and participate in group activities while keeping social distance and practicing safe procedures to limit transmission.
Faces were filled with joy and relief on the night of the 2000’s event, and CAB pulled through once again for the students to offer them the release that they needed so much during a very stressful time of the semester.
Looking ahead, BOLD Media, the proud new organization that encompasses all of student media, including The Westerner, Golden Bear Television, The Review of Art and Literature, The Cupola and WNEK Radio, is holding a large scale collaborative program: The BOLD Media Festival.
This is not a new tradition, as there has been a Media Festival for the past several years. However, BOLD Media has rebranded the event to encompass more areas of artistic expression to better recognize student artwork and achievements. This year’s submission categories are Art, Audio, Film and Written works.
Although the majority of the event will be showcasing the student’s work, special awards will be given out to exemplary members of media such as “General Member of the Year.” The award ceremony and submission screenings will be held on Saturday, April 10, starting at 4:00 p.m. The ceremony will be available for screening virtually.
After the ceremony, there will be a BOLD Media Festival “After Party” on Deliso Lawn from 8:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. featuring newspaper origami, a photo scavenger hunt, a photobooth, and a food truck available to the entire student body. Semi-formal and formal attire is encouraged at the after party.
Members of BOLD Media are excited to be highlighting the impressive artwork and creative visions of our student body, so save the date in your calendars because the BOLD Media Festival is an event you will not want to miss!
