Brunchin’ with besties

By CARLY BAHR Staff Writer

Valentine’s Dayis focused on celebrating one’s love for their significant other by gifting candy and greeting cards donned in hearts. Last Friday, Minnesota State’s Women’s Center held its annual pre-Valentine’s Day celebration; previously known as “Galentine’s Day,” now “Best Friend Friday.”

The original event was a collaboration with HerCampus and inspired by the television show “Parks and Recreation” and main character Leslie Knope’s pre-Valentine’s Day celebration with her closest female friends.

Liz Steinborn-Gourley, director of the Women’s Center, said the Knope character’s iconic waffle obsession inspired the brunch theme, and said the original event was “really successful,” with high attendance and participation.

In accordance with the “Parks and Recreation” theme, the event had brunch food catered and provided crafts including frosting heart-shaped cookies and making “affirmation jars” filled with positives notes.

According to Steinborn-Gourley, the Women’s Center changed the event’s name to make it more inclusive and because there are negative historical connotations associated with the word “gal,” having been used as a derogatory word for Black women to infantilize them, similar to “boy,” used for Black men.

The event also looked differ- the event brought old friends closer together while allowing students to make new ones. ent this year because it was the first year since 2020 that it was held in person.

Steinborn-Gourley said they “snuck one in right before we shut down with COVID,” and in 2021 they made a socially-distanced version with to-go boxes and gift bags, encouraging people to pick them up and share them with people in their “COVID pods,” or the people closest to them during the period where isolation and distancing was critical.

“I think Valentine’s Day is just fun to program around. Kids in elementary school build the box, then you make the cards and there’s all that excitement,”