Once the parking lots get full and parking starts giving out parking tickets, students can tell that the school year has officially begun. Whether it is getting your first parking ticket or seeing the heart of campus splattered with events like Housing Residence Life’s Battle of the Halls, Winona State University hosts a variety of events and practices that have become a tradition for students on campus.
Put together every year by Student Senate and the Student Union, the Winona State University Student Organization Fair was held on Sep. 11 around the Gazebo. Student organizations around campus attend from staples like Women’s Rugby to even newer organizations like Ducks Unlimited.
At the organization fair, booths like The Colleges Against Cancer Club attended to share more about their events and values.Third year student Caroline Tison, is starting out her second year as a member as she sets up the booth.
“For at least 30 years, there’s been a Relay for Life in Winona County and then we also created this club. Over time, they kind of melded together with the community to create the Relay for Life of Winona County, which is our big event every year,” Tison said. “We’re also great for nursing students because we have a lot of volunteer hours available.”
Throughout the year, Colleges Against Cancer make items and donations to help cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and all people who work with cancer. For the entirety of the county, they do a large fundraiser every year for the American Cancer Society. Last year was Tison’s first experience with the annual Relay for Life event.
“We had all of these survivors from Winona and the cities. There was this moment during the Luminary Ceremony, the lights were off, there were all of these bags lined the path in the gym and each bag representing somebody’s loved one that they wanted to remember,” Tison said. “And on that walk, you could just hear people crying. You could hear people laughing. You could really understand the experience of the lives that we live and how everyone is affected by cancer.”
From Sep. 9 through Sep.11, another tradition made its way to campus as a resource to help decorate student’s spaces.Playing music and putting stands carrying dozens of posters, albums, and prints around the gazebo, the poster sale gives students the opportunity to casually browse between classes.
“The first day it was open, my roommate came up to me and told me about it,” First year student Madison Hawkins said browsing the poster sale on its last day. “I couldn’t come the first day, so I came the second day and I was looking at posters, and I’m just looking at them again.”
Hawkins got a poster of an art piece of a woman that she and many other students would soon hang up in their respected spaces. Besides posters and albums, looking around students saw poster strips, poster putty, and even celebrity fake IDs for sale.
“There’s a bit of everything for everyone. There’s game posters, anime posters, there’s music, there’s posters of different movies, just random art pieces, so there’s a variety…You should come to it.” Hawkins said.
Students like Hawkins are hopeful that these traditions continue on campus. First year student Rheanna Rau also saw the sale going on.
“It’s kind of hard to find posters out in stores usually,” Rau said. “I think they’re nice, I saw a lot of things from my interest…They timed it pretty well.”
Adam Kucera and his sister Eliska Kucerova from the Czech Republic worked at the sale for the three days the poster sale was going on on-campus. While it’s Kucerova first time working the poster sale, Kucera has been working with the poster sale since 2016. Both have been working in the summer time then go to the Czech Republic around Aug. or Sep.
“You have a really nice campus. For example, this, what you’re doing here for students, shows they can participate in many student activities,” Kucera said, referring to the club fair going on right next to the poster sale. “I like it, because people are friendly here. Most campuses are friendly…I just like the U.S., because I can meet the people. I know how they live, not just from a tourist perspective.”
Every week they go to different campuses to host this sale and continue this tradition for other colleges. Kucerova comments their next stop from Winona is St. Cloud.
“I can just experience this university life.” Kucerova said.
Whether WSU students are moving in for their first time or their last, they can expect these campus traditions.
