Executive Council Hosts
Wellness Week Activities

By David Zawilinski
CyberNews Staff Reporter

March 6, 2002

This week is wellness week at Drake University. In attempt to get students healthier and in better physical shape, the Goodwin-Kirk executive council has set up a variety of events ranging from eating healthier foods to yoga.

"The whole program delas with stress relief and showing students that there is an alternative to alcohol," said Danielle Doughan (P1), who is on the GK executive council.

"I think it is a really good program," Carly Jarosz (AS1) said. It is a good opportunity for people who want to get healthy, and it is free."

Monday, the first night of planned activities, featured a yoga session opened to all students who attend Drake.

"I did yoga," Brad Brennon (AS1) said. "It was my first time, but I found it very relaxing." Yoga, a Hindu discipline, involves a series of stretches to achieve union with the supreme spirit through intense concentration, meditation, prescribed postures and controlled breathing.

"I found yoga very interesting and very relaxing," Drew Gulley (AS1) said. "It is something I am definitely going to look into continuing in the future."

Tuesday night there will be a meditation event, and Wednesday night will be a night filled with games.

"We have a bunch of games that deal with drinking apple juice and orange juice to show that there is an alternative to drinking alcohol," Doughan said. "I expect that Wednesday night will draw the biggest group of people."

The events for wellness week will conclude on Thursday night with an exhibition of healthy foods. Students will learn which foods are healthy and which ones are not, and then they will be able to eat some of the healthy foods.

While these activites will benefit many people, others will be left out because they did not even hear about them until this week.

"I think it could have been better publicized," Jarosz said. "There were a few posters, but nothing really caught my attention,"

The executive council posted posters in the "high traffic areas" in the dormitories and throughout the walkways leading into the dorms. However, these signs did not appear until Monday afternoon. The GK executive council attributes the poor communication of Wellness Week to a misscommunication withinn the council.

"Overall, I think wellness week is a really good idea," Gulley said. "It gives students an opportunity to see where they stand from a health basis. I personally am looking forward to continuing some of these programs after this week."