Nicole Pechacek | Staff Writer

In January, SGA announced that they helped implement wellness days at Hampton University, which were days for students to have needed breaks. Students have had two wellness days thus far, and overall, the consensus has been positive.

Some students find the days rather helpful and use them as intended, de-stressing and focusing on their mental health.

“I usually spend my wellness days just relaxing unless I have an assignment due on that day,” said Rayna Wynn, a Computer Science major from Atlanta, GA, “If nothing is due on that Friday, I just decompress and avoid looking at school stuff.”

Many reported that they were glad they finally had a break during the year, especially since the second semester tends to be a lot busier than the first with finals and big projects. 

Some students found them helpful and necessary for getting through the semester, saying that the first semester felt like too much. 

“We just went nonstop last semester. We didn’t get breaks, so they really helped,” said Sydney Broadnax, a Journalism major from Detroit, MI, “I can’t do school nonstop like I did last semester. It just wouldn’t be good for my mental health at all.”

While the idea of wellness days has been praised by some students, others think that some issues have come about that should be addressed. 

The main goal of the wellness days is to give students a much-needed break from school for the sake of their mental health, yet some students have reported receiving homework on the assigned days. They believe that their teachers are not respecting the days for what they are and see the days as just a regular break instead of a way to get rid of some of the stresses that come from school life.

“I think they should let everyone know that wellness days are occurring because some teachers don’t seem to know why they’re happening and still assign assignments for that day, so I feel like they should organize a little better,” said Austin Phillips, a Strategic Communications major from Plainfield, NJ, “Some teachers seem to just treat it like a break. They see it as a day off and think they can just pile on homework due the following day and that is very stressful to the students.”

The newly implemented wellness days are usually held on Fridays. Students report that their Fridays are not their busiest day of the week, and those days are when their homework tends to be due, so they are not getting time to destress because of the homework their teachers have assigned already. 

A possible improvement to this issue is the idea that students could answer a poll and pick what day they want the wellness day to be, collectively as a school. 

“Collectively as a class, let’s decide on when we have a wellness day. Let’s come together and decide what day would be best overall,” said Nathan Abdul-Haqq, a Strategic Communications major from Philadelphia, PA. Students appreciate and like the idea of wellness days, but they do need improvements. Students also want more mental health programs to help them have a better experience at Hampton. 

For the first mental health program put in place by students for students, the wellness days are a great step in the right direction for an overall better mental health experience for the student body during the school year.

Angela Session | Staff Writer

As SGA elections at Hampton closed April 9, the results were astonishing.

The SGA President, Vice President, and Representative to the Board of Trustees positions, also known as the ‘Big Three’ on campus for the 2021-2022 school year, are women. Holding positions that were formerly male-dominated, these three women will now serve as the face of the student body at Hampton University. SGA President, Vice President, and Representative to the Board of Trustees are as follows respectively; Kimberlee-Mykel Thompson, Amber Wynne and Zuri Williams.These women will also be looked upon to represent Hampton women, who also make up the majority of the student body. 

With pressure to both be the representatives for all Hampton students and be a woman in a high leadership position, these three women are ready to get the job done for the upcoming school year.

SGA’s newly-elected Representative to the Board of Trustees, Zuri Williams is a sophomore pre-med major from Cincinnati, Ohio. She currently serves as the sophomore class Vice President and held the same position during her freshman year. 

Amber Wynne is a junior health science policy administration major, criminal justice minor from Columbia, Maryland, who goes by the pronouns she/her. Wynne is still in awe about winning the election. 

“To see a ‘Big 3’ where every seat is taken up by a Black woman is monumental. In fact, this may be the first time this has happened at Hampton University as a whole,” Wynne said.

In her speech, she stated that it was about creating a legacy, and she is beyond honored to have been elected to serve as part of this legacy. 

“This election is more than selecting your next SGA representatives, it’s about creating a lasting legacy that extends beyond the one-year term,” she stated.

Sharing how she would use her position to empower women on Hampton’s campus, she stated that she would use her new leadership to try to bring more women to the table.

“My hope is that through my position I can help establish true equity on campus for every Hampton woman,” Wynne said. “More often than not, we do not celebrate each version of the Hampton woman. Whether that is establishing resources or bringing more women to the table, I hope to create an environment where every Hampton woman is loved and supported.”

SGA President-elect Kimberlee-Mykel Thompson is a junior strategic communications major from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who goes by the pronouns she/her. Thomspon served as SGA Vice President during the 2020-21 school year. 

Sharing that she has a lot planned for the upcoming year, a few of the first things she plans to do once in office is, “the annual implementation of Wellness Days, restructuring the student grievance policy, and increasing programming and partnerships for marginalized communities, on campus.”

Knowing that the “Big Three” is female-dominated, she hopes that our SGA administration can help shed light on the nuances of women’s leadership. 

“So often, the world puts powerful women in boxes, but I want us to break down those stereotypes and show that the Hampton woman is who you choose to make her, not who she’s told to be,” Thompson said.

Vashti Dorman | Staff Writer

In an effort to keep Hampton University’s sacred traditions alive, the sophomore and junior class councils created a week of interactive events known as “SOJU Night Live” to replace the annual and highly anticipated sophomore and junior class ball. Hosted by the Quintessence XI (QTX) and Onyx XII classes, the week of events ran from April 5-9. 

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“Black Jeopardy” was the first event held on Monday. Following the usual Jeopardy model of answering questions in different categories, participants were tested on their knowledge of African American culture. The event was a competition between the QTX and Onyx XII classes.  

“I wish we were having the ball, but at least we’re having something,” said Cheri Manning, a third-year psychology major from Rochester, New York. 

On Tuesday, April 6, a speed dating event took place called “Late Night Date Night.” This event was for students looking to create new relationships or friendships. This event mimicked the speed dating layout by having students talk to other students within a certain time limit. 

On day three of “SOJU Night Live” week, the QTX and Onyx class held a fundraising competition for the Peninsula Food Bank. Titled “Battle of the Band$: Onyx vs. Quintessence,” the competition was held through Instagram and utilized Bingo as a way to raise funds. All of the proceeds were donated to the Peninsula Food Bank. 

The next night consisted of a “Black Men Don’t Cheat Panel,” in which many Hampton students participated in a discussion on how faithful Black men are in relationships. Myana Mabry and Lanece Carpenter interviewed six Hampton men about relationships and what it means to be faithful. This event was held on Instagram Live and many interested Hamptonians tuned in to see who would be admitted to the “Faithful Black Men’s Association.”

“Interviewing for the ‘Black Men Don’t Cheat’ event for SoJu was so much fun. The audience was engaged, and the men on the panel were polite, well-versed and very patient with the questions,” Lanece Carpenter, a second-year Sports Management major on the pre-law-track from San Antonio, Texas.  “The panel was enlightening and opened up a lot of conversations about dating and relationships. Even though some of the men, unfortunately, did not make it into the ‘Faithful Black Men’s Association,’ we still have faith in them.” 

Carpenter also says she hopes to see a “Black Women Don’t Cheat” event in the future. 

The last “SOJU Night Live ” event was hosted on Instagram Live and participants talked about all things Hampton. Hosted by Drake Tucker and Tenel Robison, topics included building the campus environment for the 2021-2022 academic school year, suggestions for potential events and class engagement activities. During the live, students also talked about having more class events since they have not been on campus in over a year. 

As the semester comes to a close, many students of the Quintessence and Onyx classes are excited to return in the fall in person to continue all of the traditions Hampton hosts like SOJU, but next time with the tuxes and dresses.