Close to 50 students gathered at the Student Union on Oct. 22 to find paint supplies, pumpkins, apple cider and fall-flavored donuts and brownies. Attendees painted, mingled and listened to music together.
The simple joy of pumpkin painting at UMKC helped one student council succeed in tightening their community and branching out into other departments.
The President of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (SHSS) student council Elliot Smith said he was glad that so many students attended and enjoyed their time together.
“We had a lot of people here. We’re almost out of pumpkins,” said Smith. “We appreciate everyone coming. It’s kind of just fun to get out of class for a bit and do something more artsy and creative.”
Alexis West, a UMKC Student, was drawn to the event because of her love for painting and coloring.
“That is my calming method when I’m stressed, and it’s really something fun to do,” West said. “So when I’m feeling overwhelmed or I feel like I have too much on my hands, instead of overwhelming myself with more work, I just stop, take a break, and relax my mind.”
The SHSS Student Council Treasurer Yasmina Mokhtar shared the intentions of student events like the Oct. 22 pumpkin painting.
“I would say the whole point of these is to ease anxiety,” said Mokhtar. “So if you’re not really involved and you come to SHSS events, then you’ll find out ‘Oh this person is in this club. I might want to join that.”
Mokhtar said she thinks that these types of SHSS student council events are an easy form of fun and relaxation on campus. More importantly to Mokhtar, these events play a role in helping the different departments and branches of study within the SHSS come together.
“A lot of people get so sucked into their own major and minor, they just only know those people. They only know what’s going on there,” said Mokhtar. “I think it’s important to know what else is offered because you might be interested in it and just didn’t know about it.”
Smith shares that a goal of the SHSS student council is to help students and organizations get more involved with each others’ careers, education and activities. He values the opinions of SHSS students and has conducted surveys to gauge what students want.
“Our next big event is going to be on November 13. It’s going to be a town hall event with the dean, Tamara Falicov” said Smith. “She’s going to talk about where the school is at, and where it can go in the future. We’re excited to have the students hear from her directly.”
For more information on future SHSS events, click here.
