Photo by Kathryn Gaito
BY KATHRYN GAITO
Drake Relays is a five-day long event in which members from the community gather to see world-class athletes participate in track and field events. However, Blitz Day marks the official beginning of Relays events for the student body at Drake University.
The weeks leading up to Relays are filled with different activities, and each year there is a different theme for the Relays events. Part of Blitz Day is announcing who will be performing on the Friday of Relays and what the theme for the year will be.
Lauren Kennon, a sophomore biology major, said Blitz Day is all about finding out who the performer is for this year.
“I thought that they (SAB) did a really good job of building suspense while keeping us entertained,” Kennon said. “It was fun to watch people over-analyze everything that happened when to come to guessing who the performer was.”
Ashley Blazek and Zoe Zuidema hosted the Blitz Day activities.
The day included a performance from D+ Improv. There were multiple Minute to Win it themed games, and attendees played the online game Kahoot, where they answered Drake Relays-related trivia questions. A video about the Title IX policy on Drake’s campus was also shown titled “Define the Line, Respect the Line.”
Another aspect of Relays is the announcement of the Relays hosts. They are two seniors nominated by the student body and then chosen by the Student Activities Board. Trevor Matusik and Annelise Escher were announced as the host and hostess at Blitz Day this year.
When thinking about what it feels like to be chosen, both had different emotions. Matusik said he didn’t expect to be chosen and has respect for everyone else that was up on the stage.
“It seems like a lot of participation compared to other years,” Matusik said. “With the attendance, it may show the interest that the students have for the rest of Relays.”
Escher expressed her appreciation at being chosen.
“I am really excited to be really involved in Relays this year and to encourage as many people as possible to get involved this year,” Escher said.
Zoe Kedrowski, one of the SAB Blitz Day co-chairs, said that she believed there was a good turnout for the event and that everyone enjoyed the activities that were done.
“The Relays theme is a fun idea, and I think people are really excited about it,” Kedrowski said. “The band I am really excited for, and it is something different than what has been done in the past.”
This year is the first time the Drake will be having two different performers for the Friday night concert: AJR and Marc E. Bassy. Also, a new addition to the Relays performance this year is that it will take over Forest Avenue instead of just being in the stadium parking lot like previous years.
Meghan Mulligan played another role in planning Relays and Blitz Day through her position as the SAB Relays Co-Chair.
“This year, Blitz Day was in a different location. We (SAB) decided to move it to Parents Hall instead of Pomerantz Stage and we think that it had a good turn out,” Mulligan said. “I think it is really cool that there are two (performers) this year, because it will bring a larger variety of people who are happy with the performers.”
