A&E

Tuesday, noveMber 2, 2021

The MarqueTTe Tribune Arts & eNtertAiNmeNt

Page 8

Pop-up thrift shop for Campus Sustainability Month

Students gathered outside AMU to look at recycled clothes

By Izzy Fonfara Drewel

isabella.fonfaradrewel@marquette.edu

Between thrift shops and resale stores, buying secondhand clothing is growing in popularity. Aside from grabbing unique pieces, thrifting promotes sustainability and eliminates the exploitative process of fast fashion.

The month of October is recognized as Campus Sustainability Month. To celebrate, the Office of Sustainability organized several events. They hosted an LED lightbulb giveaway, a t-shirt to tote bag event, a sustainability office pop-up where students could ask questions, and a pop-up thrift shop.

For the thrift shop, the team encouraged students to donate throughout the month. They then gave away the donated items Oct. 27 outside the Alumni Memorial Union. The interns in the Office of Sustainability worked every event and they believed this was their greatest success.

“There was a lot of people that loved the idea [of a thrift shop],” Allyssa Vesely, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said. “We had a lot of clothes in the beginning and then by 3 o’clock it was all kind of picked through.”

The thrift shop was free and it encouraged students to shop secondhand and stop the outcomes of the fashion cycle. All the events organized this month persuaded students to be more environmentally conscious.

However, Vesely urges people to be more sustainable during all months. Sustainability and being environmentally conscious is a year-round dedication. While it may be hard, the interns have suggestions on how to live a greener life.

“I know how hard it is because they got us in the dorms and I know how hard it is to remember to bring your own straw, but reusables are really important,” Vesely said. “I think just being an advocate; if people speak up about wanting composting on campus or teaching other people how to recycle properly, I think changes could happen.”

Additionally, Marquette was named a ‘Green College’ by the Princeton Review. In the Marquette Today announcement covering this award, many examples were named including sustainability-focused groups and environmental classes. To maintain the title, the interns are designing their own projects. Michaela Schulist, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, is collaborating with Vesely and they have a great idea.

“Her and I are doing a food waste diversion project that we would like to launch a pilot for in one of the university-owned apartments,” Schulist said. “We want to divert food waste from the landfills because it causes a lot of CO2 emissions, a lot of methane too.”

The interns are hoping to launch their pilot project soon. Until then, they will be hosting events for students to participate in.

“We are planning on doing more throughout the year, we just wanted to emphasize some fun, sustainable activities for the campus to be involved in,” Schulist said.

Even though Campus Sustainability Month is ending, the Office of Sustainability will continue to promote being environmentally conscious throughout the year. To learn more about their efforts, you can follow them on Instagram, @marquetteugreen.

Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority hosts pumpkin sale

Proceeds fundraise for breast cancer awareness charities

By Rashad Alexander

rashad.alexander@marquette.edu

The fall season calls for an essential item: a pumpkin. And thanks to the Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority, students were able to purchase a pumpkin for a charitable cause Oct. 27.

The Gammas had a sale for small pumpkins on the second floor of the Alumni Memorial Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and in the Center for Engagement and Inclusion from 4 to 6 p.m.

The pumpkins were one dollar each and all the proceeds were matched and went toward a breast cancer awareness foundation of their choice.

Alondra Moreno, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences and the vice president of recruitment for the Gammas, said the fundraiser was very important to her.

“My godmother and my grandma both had breast cancer. I feel like while there are a good amount of resources, there is space for more funding for programs to gain more information about breast cancer,” Moreno said. “Us women need to start educating ourselves to catch the signs early. Also, being informed what those signs are, because it’s better to find out sooner than later, before it gets even more aggressive.”

Moreno, who has previously done volunteer work with her church in Chicago, said she has always known the importance of giving back to the community.

“You should always give back to where you came from and always go back to your roots. I feel like when you do community service, you learn more about that community and what the community is all about,” Moreno said.

The Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority was founded in 1990 and was created to empower Latina women nation wide.

Clarissa Martinez, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences who joined the sorority in the spring 2021 semester, said she is grateful to be surrounded by a group of Hispanic women at a predominantly white institution like Marquette .

“It’s just given me a place to call home on campus,” Martinez said. “It can be difficult for students of color, to find a place where you feel comfortable and fit in, and this sorority has definitely given me that.”

Martinez, who is a part of the sorority’s marketing team, said she has also learned a lot within her short time with the Gammas.

“It’s given me a lot of skill and strategy to use for just the future,” Martinez said. “Like how to get the word out, how to fundraise, how to put together an event. And just how to organize and work on a professional level.”

Leslie Sanchez, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said that this pumpkin sale is just one of many the good deeds the group plans on doing.

“Our goal this year is to hold one fundraiser every month to help our philanthropies, which are Breast Cancer awareness or the Trio Program,” Sanchez said. “We also do fundraisers for any other causes that we see fit with our principles.”

Those principles, as they call them pillars, are community service, academics, cultural awareness, social interaction and morals and ethics. The pillars are highly involved within the sorority’s events.

Members of the Marquette community can learn more about the Gamma’s future events on their Instagram, @og.gammas,

Photo by Josh Meitz joshua.meitz@marquette.edu The Sigma Lambda Gamma sorority sold and painted pumpkins on the second floor of the AMU Oct. 27.

and their Facebook, Marquette U Gammas, as the ladies continue to make positive differences within the Milwaukee community.

Black Queens Support Group: talk, relate and relax

Sessions can provide necessary space for Black women at MU

By Jonillia Davis

jonilla.davis@marquette.edu

There is a new leader at Marquette University: Her name is Shakari Lewis. Lewis, the only Black female mental health counselor at Marquette, is taking over the Black Queens Support Group.

Although any student can see Lewis, she likes to work closely with Black Marquette students. “My coordination area is with Black and African American students, and so it doesn’t necessarily mean not only see Black and African American students, but I like to do a lot of programming and outreaching around that particular population,” Lewis said.

Lewis was approached by Tiffany Fulford, the coordinator of cultural engagement programs and services, to take over the Black Queens Support Group. Lewis thought it would be a perfect opportunity to further reach Black students.

The Black Queens Support Group has a loose atmosphere. A highlight of the group is Black women who work at Marquette are invited, so group members can connect with women who work on campus and can relate to their experiences. Best of all, there will be food. Daddy’s Soul Food and Grille, a Black-owned business, was ordered for the first meeting. Lewis hopes to make the group stronger than ever.

Chigozie Okuagu, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, is one of the participants of the Black Queens Support Group. She said it felt very powerful for a Black woman to create a space for Black women.

“All of our experiences are

Photo by Sarah Kuhns sarah.kuhns@marquette.edu The Black Queens Support Group meets in the AMU, Suite 111. different, so giving us a space to decompress and just talk about things that we might go through as Black women is really nice,” Okuagu said.

Okuagu said she enjoyed playing games and getting to know everyone who attended.

“If you don’t feel like you have anyone to talk [to], there are people that you know [that] will support you and help you grow,” Okuagu said.

Tiffany Fulford was not available for comment, but Demetria Anderson spoke on her behalf. Anderson is Tiffany’s supervisor and the director of the Office of Engagement and Inclusion.

“Black Queens is one of our campus Community Circles coordinated by the Center for Engagement and Inclusion. Black Queens continues the tradition of Malkia Circle, the original name of the group, and is a celebration of Black women and provides a safe space for Black female-identified students to dwell and grow amongst other Black [women] on Marquette’s Campus,” Anderson said.

Anderson believes the Black Queens Support Group provides a necessary space for Black girls to connect. She hopes Black girls will have self-awareness, empowerment and sisterhood among each other.

“Our community circles are important because they demonstrate the importance of communal space for students,” Anderson said. Community circles are a way to support marginalized communities. Anderson said Marquette should continue to promote groups like this and participation. She hopes students will continue to come to the space.

The date for the next meeting is tentative. The meetings take place once a month on a Thursday between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. in Center for Engagement and Inclusion, located in the Alumni Memorial.

Email Lewis or the Center for Engagement and Inclusion at cei@marquette.edu for more information, or you can stop by the Center for Engagement and Inclusion room.