In their first executive meeting of the semester on Jan. 31, the Drake Student Activities Board (SAB) announced that all Drake Relays campus traditions are scheduled to make a full return this spring. After two years of the Relays festivities being canceled due to COVID-19, members of the SAB executive board said they are thrilled to be preparing for the activities to be fully in-person again.
“Following the University guidelines which are in place right now, it seems as though the Relays are going to be much closer to normal than we originally were expecting,” SAB President Maddie Haun said. “Everyone is very excited for a quote/unquote “normal Relays” because we haven’t had that since 2019.”
Many of the specifics for the scheduled Relays activities are being kept secret by SAB to increase anticipation.
“Although we can’t share details quite yet, I think the student body will be excited to see some traditional events coming back as well as a few new ones,” Relays co-chair Ashley Johnson said. “My co-chair Anna George and I have been planning Relays since August and I am absolutely ecstatic to see everything come to life.”
SAB has also already booked the artist that will be headlining the annual Friday night concert. Though no official contract has been signed, bands co-chair Emy Hayes said plans will be finalized once they have found an individual student or band to be the concert’s opening act.
In addition to preparations for Relays Week, SAB’s first meeting involved discussion about the other activities they have chosen to host this semester. These events include a collaborative drag show with Drake’s Rainbow Union sometime in March, a campus Earth Day celebration during Drake’s Earth Week, and a mental health speaker series scheduled for early April.
“I think something that we did well last semester was our intention, as in, being intentional about having quality programming rather than having a large quantity of events we aren’t as passionate about,” said President Haun. “Passion and intention are going to be key for the SAB in this upcoming semester, too.”
The last action item in SAB’s Jan. 31 meeting was the induction of two executive board members: Maria Husting as the new entertainment co-chair and Maddi Cave as the new digital media co-chair.
“My role is basically to plan events that boost school morale and spirit,” Husting said of her new position. “I feel this board is a way I can start to really feel connected in this school, all while helping others love Drake University the way I do.”
