April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Students Ending Rape Culture at Illinois State University (SERC) is hosting several events throughout the month to show support and raise awareness. SERC hosted its Consent Day event last Wednesday at Schroeder Plaza. Several campus organizations came together to share and explore the different ways consent plays in a student’s daily life. SERC representative Lauren Bounds shared what the organization does for the campus community. “It can mean so much for so many different students[and] it can be really comforting for survivors,” Bounds said. Consent Day is one of the many events SERC hosts throughout April. Different campus RSOs and local organizations attended and discussed the importance of consent. “It is so integral is our daily lives…it can be as small as how we interact with our loved ones, our friends, but also people we’ve never met before,” Bounds said. SERC representative Evan Carr noted that consent is sometimes misunderstood. “There are a lot of misconceptions about when consent is needed and when it’s not. Oftentimes, it is framed around sex in particular, but consent is just the bare minimum requirement for most of our interaction between people,” Carr said. Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, MERGE, Pride at ISU, Queer Coalition, Student Counseling Services, Black Girl Code, the YWCA, OSF Healthcare, Bobzbay Books and Mid Central Community Action were some of the on-campus and local organizations in attendance. Teal ribbons, the official color for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, were available to students. Additionally, OSF Healthcare had a sample test kit for students to learn about the process of sexual assault testing. More information on SERC’s upcoming events for its Sexual Assault Awareness Month campaign is available online.

Illinois State University's Office of Sustainability will host its annual Earth Day Breakfast this week to help raise awareness of environmental issues and promote change around the world. The event will take place from 8-10 a.m. Tuesday in the Brown Ballroom of the Bone Student Center. Attendees will be provided with a breakfast buffet with local, organic and Fair Trade certified foods. Beverages and vegan options will also be available. This year's keynote speaker will be author and climate activist Zahra Biabani. Assistant Director of the Office of Sustainability Christine Bruckner shared why Biabani was selected for the breakfast. “Zahra was selected as the speaker for this year's breakfast after the Office of Sustainability staff read her book, ‘Climate Optimism: Celebrating Systemic Change Around the World,’” Bruckner said. “She brings a very positive and uplifting message of ‘climate wins,’ [or] examples of people and places around the world that are addressing climate change.” Biabani will discuss how communities are creating unique solutions to the climate crisis. Copies of Biabani’s book will be available for purchase, and there will be a book signing following her address. This event is co-sponsored by the College of Business, Leadership, Education and Development (LEAD), the Department of Health Sciences and the Department of Geography, Geology and the Environment. Additional information is available here.

University of Illinois professor and historian Peter Fritzsche presented “Brown Vibe: How Hitler Won Over the Majority in 100 Days” Thursday in Schroeder Hall. This lecture was a part of the Robert G. Bone Distinguished Lecturer Series hosted by the Illinois State University History Department. Fritzsche, who focuses mostly on modern Europe, the revolution, the Third Reich and World War II, walked attendees through the first 100 days of Adolf Hitler’s rule and what it was like to be in Germany then. One of Fritzche’s key points was the Reichstag Election that took place on March 5, 1933, and how the Nazis dominated election crowds while the government took over the remaining German states. “It is the March 5 elections, with the slim majority, but a strong majority in many, many places, that prompted a wave of violence from above and from below against the republican institutions,” Fritzsche said. Along with this election, Fritzsche discussed how the community turned on each other and how there was a lot of tension between citizens in Germany. Fritzsche’s point stuck with the Department of History’s Clinical Assistant Professor Kelly Keogh. “This idea of how quickly people will turn on each other and turn on their supposedly deep-held beliefs to chase after someone like Hitler or this promise of a better tomorrow is scary,” Keogh said. Keogh believed there were a lot of parallels between what Fritzsche discussed and the current U.S. government. “100 days is all it took for [Hitler] to dismantle [Germany], and [I] see how quickly things are deteriorating in this country. There's some really frightening parallels,” Keogh said. Freshman psychology major Ksenia Peric was interested in how Germany’s citizens felt during this period. “One part [of the lecture] was a guy's diary talking about his family's internal relationships politically and how his family interacted with each other, and I found that really interesting,” Peric said. Keogh was impressed with Fritzsche’s storytelling. “I think he was very calculated in how he weaved the narrative so [attendees] could make the connections to the obvious parallels without beating people over the head with it,” Keogh said. Keogh hoped this lecture would inspire people to make themselves aware and stand up for what they believe in. “Some people are too reluctant to call things out as they are; if it looks like fascism, it is fascism. People need to get more educated and aware, and people need to not give up,” Keogh said. Peric thought the lecture was well-organized and would like to see similar events on campus in the future. “I would attend a lecture like this again, I would appreciate it if we had more opportunities to have these lectures,” Peric said.

Illinois State University's Student Government Association (SGA) held its last general assembly meeting of the semester this past Wednesday in the State Farm Hall of Business. The meeting proved to be a busy night for SGA as six legislative items passed the assembly. The passage of the 13th Amendment removed outdated committees and established three internal committees: civic engagement, internal affairs and external affairs. It also established vice-chairperson roles and allows for subcommittees. “We kind of thought that a vice chairperson would be useful…they would kind of help with event planning…it would be kind of like a second hand in the committee,” President of the Assembly Tyler Bever said. Bever explained that subcommittees would be created at the discretion of the committee chair. He said the planning of the Redbird Market could be a subcommittee under external affairs. The assembly also passed a 12th Amendment, which updated the bylaws to align with recent changes made to the SGA constitution following approval by the student body. SGA allocated $1,100 from the Civic Engagement Committee to the School Street Food Pantry to purchase sustainable and reusable canvas shopping bags through bill #11. “I think this is going to be our third year doing this…that goes to show that the bags are being used, and they are needing more,” said Chief of Staff Megan James. “We made a way to figure out how to get that money to them, obviously not in monetary funds, but in a productive way that helps not only students but also them.” SGA urged ISU to continue pursuing fair trade certification through Resolution #8. “For those of you who may not know, fair trade is a system that values people and fair labor practices with an understanding that the capitalist, neocolonial world market often unfairly disadvantages the global south. This can have severe economic consequences for small farmers, making it nearly impossible to plan their futures, secure their wages or reinvest in their own businesses,” said graduate assistant for the Office of Sustainability Ryleigh Hickman. The direct input from a member of the ISU community garnered praise from Secretary of Governmental Relations Sam Majka. “This is the way that I wish SGA worked more often. Having contact with constituents and being more motivated and energized from constituents,” Majka said. SGA also passed bill #10, which approved a $680.45 allocation for the annual Passing of the Gavel ceremony. “So, we had allocated $600 to Passing of the Gavel…and then I remembered I didn’t get drinks. So, originally it was supposed to be $440, so under that $500 threshold, but then I got drinks for everybody…and so with that it increased the total up to $680 rather than $440,” said Chief of Staff Megan James. James further said that appetizers were included in the total cost of the bill. The Redbird Market was briefly discussed, including an overview of the results of a survey completed by the vendors. Of the 100 vendors that attended, 40 responded. They rated their experience 4.77 stars out of five. More than 50% sold over $200 and 74% of the vendors gained social media followers.

Illinois State University’s Student Government Association (SGA) opened the Redbird Market on the Quad on Tuesday. Over 100 vendors sold at the market. “This event is meant to give students an easier way to break into the personal business world. This gives them the chance to showcase and sell their products in a high-traffic area with no cost to participate since the Student Government Association is covering the expenses,” said SGA President of the Assembly Tyler Bever. Bever and his colleague, Ella Sharp, said they devoted countless hours to creating this event as “their last hurrah” before graduation. Items such as gym supplements, custom art and clothing were sold at the market. Both vendors and shoppers said that this event was more successful than they imagined and that they hope it returns. Senior psychology major and owner of Vintage Threads Midwest, David Knipp, was a vendor at this event. He sells at a booth called Antiques and Uniques in downtown Bloomington “I was a little hesitant, but I was hopeful. I’ve had a great time and sales have been very humbly good,” Knipp said. Senior finance major and co-founder of TNT Evolution, Tyler Scheck, was another vendor at the event. The company sells creatine capsules online. “We primarily sell online, so it has been nice to have an event set up by the ISU community and student government,” Scheck said. Turnout has been great. We have gotten a good amount of sales and really [gotten] our brand name out there.” Freshman film and digital media major Angeline Manalo expressed fascination with the unique products from the vendors. “I really enjoyed this one artist’s work who published their own graphic novel. So far, I have bought a small bracelet and a bandana,” Manalo said. “It is super unique, so I wanted to see what it was all about, and I was not disappointed. I got these shorts for free at the share shop and TNT Evolution’s booth is my favorite so far because they are giving away free products in a push-up competition,” said junior accounting major Dylan Ginalick. Due to the strong attendance of both shoppers and vendors, the SGA has expressed hopes to hold this event each semester. “This event is run by students, for students, and there are a lot of eyes on us watching on how it will go. I really hope it goes well and becomes something that continues every year,” Bever said.

Illinois State University joined 16 other universities and community colleges in launching the “Prepare for Illinois’ Future powered by Kaplan’s All Access License” program in February. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and the State of Illinois partnered with Kaplan, an educational service provider, to make this program possible. Illinois is the first state to provide this type of program to students. The program provides free graduate admissions test prep and other courses for both graduate and undergraduate school, licensing and skills development. Over 40 courses are available at no cost to ISU students, including preparation for the GRE, LSAT and MCAT. “The ‘Prepare for Illinois’ Future’ program presents a transformative opportunity for students in Illinois,” said Illinois State Sen. Dave Koehler. “It helps remove financial barriers and creates pathways to high-demand careers in fields such as healthcare, education and technology.” Kaplan Vice President of University Partnerships, Kim Canning, further discussed the impact of removing the financial barriers to these resources for students. “By removing this barrier across the public school system in Illinois, it’s really leveling the playing fields for all students,” Canning said. “As students transition from university, regardless of what steps they’re making, they have these resources and they have the understanding of what these resources can do,” Canning continued. Koehler expressed the importance of Illinois funding this program. “By investing in [students’] futures, we are also building a stronger and more resilient workforce that benefits every community across our state,” Koehler said. Since launching the program, there have been over 3,000 enrollments, saving students almost $6.5 million. “Something important to know about that number is that as we go through the year, students will have access to these resources during the summer too,” Canning said. Canning said the enrollment process is quick, easy and that students can gain access to the provided resources almost immediately after enrolling. “This is really a year-round resource that can support students at multiple times throughout their college career,” Canning said. “We’d love to see more students take advantage of this.” Students can register here.