SUA Alumni Newsletter Spring 2020

STUDENT UNION ACTIVITIES ALUMNI NEWSLETER — SPRING 2020

(785) 864-SHOW SUAevents.com facebook.com/SUAevents twitter.com/SUAevents

SUA ALUMNI NEWSLETTER

Happy spring semester!

My name is Mikayla Leader and I am the Vice President of Outreach for 2020.

This is our Spring 2020 edition of the SUA Alumni Newsletter. In this issue, we update you on the highlights of our events in the Fall semester, in addition to our wonderful upcoming events in the Spring.

In November, we had turnover with our new leaders which included multiple retreats to prepare them to do the best. We also had an Alumni Reception during homecoming week in October. It is always an exciting time interacting with our alumni, hearing their accomplishments and memories with SUA! This semester my goal is to raise $5,000 for our future leaders to support their ideas within the organization. They do amazing work for us and we wouldn’t be SUA without them.

Spring Leadership Retreat Our spring retreat provides new leaders with tips and tricks that they need to know to be successful in their position.

Vice President of Outreach Mikayla Leader

Rita Ravens Retreat The RRA Leadership Workshop provides personalized leadership development opportunities in a retreat environment that allows for intense, concentrated learning. This year we had 31 attendees including 5 alum from Student Union Activities, The Big Event, KJHK and Student senate.

1

UPCOMING EVENTS Alumni are always welcomed at SUA events. Here are some highlights of our Fall 2019 events. Let us know when you’re in town!

An Evening with Ysef February 8th

Bus Trip: Planet Comicon March 21st

Bubble Tea Extravaganza March 18th

Farmers Ball April 17th

Earth Day Festival April 22nd

Creativity Tuesday Every other Tuesday

2

DEAR ALUMNI, My name is Cody Murray, the new president of SUA for the 2020 school year. I am a Junior from Hutchinson, Kansas studying Fine Arts, specifically ceramics. I have been in SUA for three years and have held multiple positions in the organization. I started out as a committee member, went on to be the Fine Arts Gallery Coordinator, and then the Vice President of Communications. I have been so thankful to be a part of this organization and to continue the 82 year legacy of SUA.

Bachelorette Tell All

SUA IS GOING GREEN!

Right before Winter Break, we finished our terms and the last few events. Overall, last semester we reached 49,529 total attendees and held 207 events.

Please fill out the Alumni Mailing List by going to this link: http://suaevents.com/alumniinfo In addtion, consider joining our Facebook Group where you can connect with current students and former alumni, post pictures, or share your past memories with SUA! Simply type in “SUA Alumni” on the Facebook search bar, look under Groups tab, and click on the “+ Join” button located on the right. We would love to keep in touch with SUA alumni and invite you to our annual alumni

We have a very excited new group of leaders for the new term. Each of them have had a great start to their semester. So far this semester we have had some very successful events. Including, Dinner and Show: The Color Purple, our first Creativity Tuesday, and Lunar New Year. I am very excited to see what else we accomplish over the next semester!

networking opportunities, and inspire our current SUA membership.

Something I am focusing on during my presidency is recruitment. I will be organizing tablings across campus in various locations to have better outreach to certain departments.

As well as in-class lectures for members to tell their peers about the organization.

For further questions, please feel free to contact our Vice President of Outreach at suavpoutreach@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to a semester full of great events!

President Cody Murray

3

Fall 2019 Highlights

Spring First Board

Heart of Drag

FINE ARTS Fine Arts committee is dedicated to bringing creativity to students through biweekly art activities and other events.

Last semester, Fine Arts hosted the annual Chillramics where 257 students enjoyed painting mugs, plates, and bowls. This semester Fine Arts is looking forward to our Canvas and Mocktails Event where students have the opportunity to enjoy refreshments and paint a canvas with a local instructor.

UNION GALLERY The Kansas Union Gallery continues to get close to 10,000 visits a year. In the fall of 2020 we are highlighting nine show. We have also increased engagement with the Gallery through our Afternoon Art series that hosts a hands-on event each month in which students create art related to the current show. Additionally we will still be hosting the internationally recognized What Were you Wearing? Exhibit with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center.

4

Identity and Diversity (ID) Identity and Diversity encompasses various cultural, gender, and sexuality backgrounds. Events such as Science Experiment with oSTEM, Oktoberfest, and Día de los Muertos are examples that highlight the committee’s goals. We work together to bring students of every background together to feel like they are included in a welcoming environment.

Special Events As for Special Events, their favorite event was Fill-aBear in February. It was an engaging event for both event goers and volunteers. The event had a tw o hour time frame however the event ended after 30 minut es because there were so many event goers. They are excited to host another Fill-a-Bear this semester but with more outreach.

Live Music Live Music Committee had another busy semester! It sold out its third Granada show of the year, Rico Nasty, in three weeks and hosted Battle of the Beats, an annual DJ competition at The Bottleneck. Overall, the groups of KU students, allowing Live Music to reach a wide variety of audiences and music tastes. Other notable events included A Folkin’ Good Time, Decades of Dance, and a singer-songwriter series, which featured an open mic for KU students.

5

Spring Event Highlights

Friday Nights @ the Studio

Canvas and Moctails

Dinner and A Show

Graduate Galleries

how to give back Millie Jones

KU Grad Senior Show: February 3rd–14th Reception: February 6th, 5–7PM

KANSAS UNION GALLERY Gallery Hours: 7AM–7PM M–F www.kansasuniongallery.org

SUA and its campus programming run on student volunteers. In the past 82 years, we have built on the success of our rich history to double the number of leaderships. To make a contribution to Student Union Activities, please go to: • union.ku.edu/giving • You will be redirected to our secure donation site hosted by KU Endowment.

A list o f options will appear on the sit e. Please designate your gift to one (or more) of the following funds: SUA Enrichment (04146), Warner Ferguson University Service Scholarship Endowment (01486), Katherine C. Giele Scholarship Endowment (03316), SUA Academic Support Scholarship Endowment (03421), Frank Burge Scholarship Endowment (02831), or Student Union Activities Engagement Endowment (09541).

Thank you for supporting a main stay of the KU campus experience. Let’s work together to continue this wonderful tradition for another 82 years!

6

UPDATE: Our COVID-19 response The previous pages of our newsletter were written and assembled before COVID-19 hit us. In the middle of spring break, COVID-19 started to really strike the nation and Kansas. By the time we were all returning from our trips, the University had moved all staff to working remote and was in the process of putting classes online. As you all know, every day was a new change. We responded in the only way SUA knows how; we started a new series of programs, but now online. Our student leaders came together over Zoom and brainstormed a many ideas as we could to keep KU students connected to campus. What we end up with was a weekly calendar that kept alive our regular favorites like Tea at Three and Creativity Tuesdays and added yoga tips and an Instagram live music performance. Several of these programs have been very successful and we look forward to keeping some virtual engagement a part of our regular calendar for students who need engagement without being in-person or on campus.

We hope you and your loved ones are safe and well.

Monday

Instagram Interactive

Tuesday

Creativity Tuesday

?

Wednesday

Wild Card Wednesdays

Wild Card Wednesday

• How to make four ingredient

Thursday

peanut butter cookies

Tea at Three

• Disney Day • Trivia Night

Friday

• Bingo

Netflix Party

• Apartment gardening • Fort making contest

Saturday

Self Care Saturday

Sunday

Take a Tour Sunday

7