hannah's hub

     In honor of International Stress Awareness Week, PennWest California students and faculty are discussing stress management and the stigma surrounding mental health.      According to the International Stress Management Association, International Stress Awareness Week occurs annually from Nov. 7-11 and aims to raise awareness and promote healthy coping skills for overwhelming amounts of stress.      PennWest California students shared what has been weighing heavy on their minds for the coming weeks.      Alyssa Lambert-Alonso, a PennWest California senior, often finds herself feeling overwhelmed by mountains of assignments as the end of the semester rapidly approaches. She also often worries about “trying to prepare for life after graduation next semester.”      “After a long day, I try to take time out for myself and do some self-care,” she said.      Lambert-Alonso manages her stress by readi...

  Domestic Violence Awareness Month is in full swing, and PennWest California’s campus is commemorating the occasion by spreading awareness and educating students. Nancy Skobel, associate director of the California campus’s Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention & Response, has been working throughout the entire month of September in the name of domestic violence awareness. She began the month-long celebration by appearing in every first year seminar class to educate students on a strategy of prevention called the Green Dot program. She followed this up by planting red flags with unhealthy behaviors written on them around campus as part of an awareness campaign.  Cassidy Nodaros, a senior criminal justice major, is collaborating with fellow criminal justice major Alyssa Lambert-Alonso, Skobel, and the Office of Sexual Misconduct Prevention & Response to put together the What Were You Wearing? exhibit. Nodaros devised the idea for this project with the hopes that ...

     Pennsylvania Western University is making it known that they are not afraid to have hard talks about difficult subjects. Beginning in September, the university has been holding several open discussions on controversial topics such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade as part of a new series entitled “Uncomfortable Conversations.” The series encourages audience participation, ending every presentation with a lengthy Q&A portion.      The most recent topic of conversation featured a former congregational rabbi and current professor of Jewish studies, Rachel Mikva, discussing the concepts of gender and sexuality from a traditional Jewish point of view. The event, cosponsored by the Jewish Community Council of Erie and PennWest’s Office of the Provost; Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; LGBTQIA+ Commission and the LGBTQIA+ Fund, involved Mikva pulling passages from the Hebrew Bible and the Torah to explain the meaning behind them and common mis...

     PennWest California University is honoring Latinx Heritage Month by organizing a series of events designed to inform students about Hispanic culture and encourage creativity in the process. Hosted by the Cal U Art Club, Cal U Catholic, and the Hispanic Student Association, this week’s event consisted of a showing of the film “The Official Story,” along with a variety of crafts including beading and painting.      According to the official website, National Hispanic American Heritage Month, which spans from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, celebrates the many ways Hispanic Americans have influenced and enhanced American culture today.       The film, “The Official Story,” is a fictionalized rendition of actual events that occurred in Argentina throughout the dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla, beginning in 1976. The goal of this event was to simultaneously educate students about the history of Argentina while also teaching them about traditiona...

   Students and religious leaders all over the world stood together around flagpoles to pray over their communities last week in accordance with the annual See You at the Pole event. The PennWest California campus was no exception as New Life Christian Fellowship, STAND, and Cal Catholic, the campus ministries, assembled a group of students and faculty to pray and sing songs of worship around the school’s flagpole. Despite it being 7 a.m. and 45 degrees, fifteen students and four faculty members of the PennWest California campus rallied together to pray and spread hope to their campus community. Kim Carson, campus minister who oversees New Life Christian Fellowship, attended her first See You at the Pole event in middle school and has been involved with campus ministry since she was in college. She holds a firm belief that See You at the Pole is both impactful and important. “I like that it’s a collaborative thing open to anyone,” she said. “I think it’s always helpful...