CHAARG empowers GV women through wellness
Changing Health, Attitudes and Actions to Recreate Girls, more commonly referred to as CHAARG, is an organization with chapters found at more than one hundred universities across the nation and aims to empower women on their wellness journeys.
Grand Valley State University’s CHAARG chapter wants to show women that working out doesn’t have to be just hopping on the treadmill or elliptical. The organization aims to create a space where women are supported, encouraged and feel safe during workouts.
“CHAARG is important to have at GVSU because it gives women on campus a safe space to try new workouts and connect with each other,” said Chloe Bower, president of CHAARG at GVSU. “Not only does it motivate girls to try new ways to work out, but it gives women the opportunity to explore new workouts in a safe environment where everyone around you wants you to succeed and be the best version of yourself.”
Read more of Sitlali Padron’s coverage of CHAARG here.
GV’s Vertical Earth climbing club takes community to new heights
Grand Valley State University’s Vertical Earth Club takes rock climbing to the next level.
With about 60 members, Vertical Earth Club is a student-run organization that meets twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the GVSU Fieldhouse Climbing Center. Additionally, the student organization takes various trips to other states exploring and climbing in nature. The organization gives students opportunities to develop new skills and bond with other members.
“Climbing is just a really unique way that you can interact with nature and also the people around you. It’s really cool to be in a supportive environment where we’re all cheering each other on, doing really hard things,” said Vera Grix, the financial officer of Vertical Earth Club.
Read more about the Vertical Earth club here.
GV’s D1 men’s club ice hockey team highlights importance in balance
The Grand Valley State University Division 1 men’s club ice hockey team plays at the Griffs Georgetown Ice Arena, a short five-minute drive from GVSU’s Allendale campus. Their schedule consists of 28 regular season games, The Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame (GRSHOF) Tournament and playoffs. This year the team’s goal is to outperform themselves from their run in the tournaments last year and make a competitive run at both the end-of-year tournament playoffs and the GRSHOF tournament.
The team this year is led by captains Shane Haggerty, Gage Thrall and Zach Borchardt. The schedule is lengthy but according to the captains, the team is confident. Currently sitting on a 9-7 record, almost exactly halfway through the season, they seem to be taking the season one game at a time.
“We have weekly goals of getting better each week and for each upcoming game,” Thrall said.
To prepare the team for each game, the captains not only lead on the ice, but they also make an effort to lead by example by encouraging their peers off the ice as well.
More on the men’s D1 hockey club here.
GV Brew serves up boba and bubbles
Coffee is a staple for many college student’s lives, both to get the day started and to push through long study sessions. A campus staple to Grand Valley State University students, staff and visitors is GV Brew, located in the Mary Idema Pew Library. The convenient location makes it easy for students to grab a quick study snack or drink during their time at the library or on their way to and from classes.
The menu now includes pre-fixed lemonades and tea with boba, as well as the option to customize a drink based on flavor preferences. Despite dropping the Starbucks affiliation the cafe still sells traditional coffee drinks, chai, Thai tea and mochas as well. This menu addition creates a variety of menu choice options for students to try.
“Laker Food Co. wanted to create a destination for students where unique products could be offered. It was all about bringing Boba and Bubble Tea to campus,” said Deb Rambadt, a staff member of Laker Food Co.
More on this change from Laker Food Co. and Anne Davey’s coverage here.
STAGE theatre show features student talent, on stage, behind scenes
STAGE, a theater club at Grand Valley State University, put on “Yikes!” a show consisting of a medley of short comedic numbers, ranging from seven to 30 minutes long.
“Yikes!” gave students the opportunity to demonstrate their talents across many different aspects of the production including, performance, writing and directing to create the final showing.
A few of the actors played multiple roles across the mini-shows in “Yikes!” including Emma Juhala, a member of the Eboard for STAGE and social media manager for the organization. Previously, Juhala was a director for the show last year. This time around, Juhala took on the roles of a jury member in “The Worst Possible Defense Before God,” a character named Jamie in “I’ve Had Enough,” and a character named Charlie in “Death by Doormat.”
“I love STAGE, it’s a great community. You honestly get a little family of people that you get to know,” Juhala said. “Just getting to see those people who have never done this before, get to do what they love which is great.”
Read more of Sara Bagley’s coverage on the STAGE show here.
GV Esports changes the playing field with new team promoting inclusivity
The Grand Valley State University’s Esports club announced the launch of their three Premier Teams: Rocket League, Valorant and Valorant Game Changers.
While playing competitively at this level is new for GVSU Esports, the club is also breaking ground in other ways. The Valorant Game Changers team is the first Esports team focused solely on women and marginalized genders at GVSU.
Riot Games, the creator of Valorant, coined the term “Game Changers”’ and created a competitive circuit for specifically women and marginalized genders to compete on. The overall initiative aims to invite more inclusivity into the Esports world, a historically male-dominated environment. GVSU was eager to follow.
“It was a unique opportunity for us to elevate some of our women leaders within our program,” Riley Long, the coordinator and assistant director of Esports at GVSU, said. “It’s a way to really start to pave the path forward for gender equity within our program.”
More on the new Game Changers Esports league here
The Asian Student Union fundraises for the Grand Rapids Asian Pacific Foundation
The Asian Student Union (ASU) hosted its annual Taste of Asia fundraiser on Oct. 6 in the Chamberlain Multipurpose Room Niemeyer Multipurpose Room in the Niemeyer Living and Learning center. The room was transformed into an immersive dining experience: paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, streamers wrapped the banisters and tables were decorated with paper cranes.
Co-President Brianna Lee described the event as an opportunity “to introduce members of Grand Valley to authentic Asian Cuisine.”
Over a hundred attendees lined up with their fundraising tickets, wrapping down and around the hallway leading into the room. The members of the club prepared traditional Asian dishes such as miso soup, bulgogi, stir fry, curry and more.
Read more about this event and what the ASU has to offer students here
New honors college course defies traditional expectations
“Earth Matters” is a new first-year sequence, a course, available to students in Grand Valley State University’s Frederik Meijer Honors college starting this fall.
In this non-traditional full year course, students will go out to a local sustainable agricultural farm every Friday amongst other community outreach projects.
Professor Peter Wampler and Professor Melba Vélez Ortiz are teaching the course this year and are looking forward to changing student’s lives and perspectives.
“Last year I taught a prototype of the class. Students created press releases for different environmental events. They created a visual campaign about awareness for river and cleanliness. They created public service announcements. They wrote to congress,” Vélez Ortiz said. “These are things that in a normal ecology class, you don’t do!”
Read more about this new course here.
