Grace LaTourelle-

I had an exam this morning for one of my classes. Despite this, until late into the night, I doom-scrolled Instagram reels. I’d oscillate between the video I watched and my Safari browser, searching for proof, incredulous that something like that could even happen. My friend earlier in the day had asked me, “Have you heard what happened with the government today?” In class that morning, we talked about the DAPL pipeline burst. Right before opening Instagram, my mom called me, telling me of a scary story she had read. Inevitably, I get sucked into the multitude of tragedies and suddenly the borders between me and the rest of the state, country, world are paper thin. I am the source and manifestation of everything. 

The air is heavy. As Opinion Writer, Raquel Vaughn so aptly wrote last semester; “this year there are things not to be thankful for.” She’s right. There’s a lot to be upset about. 

So what do we do? It seems as though change is impossible; we need to dismantle and completely recreate our entire systems. We need to somehow immediately reject our phones, agriculture, the meat industry, and our reliance on oil. I’m paralyzed with anxiety, thinking that I alone need to be the one to solve world hunger, poverty, and peace. Who do I talk to? Where do I go?    

Local solutions to spark global change: it’s a concept first introduced to me last J-term when I went with the Recreation Department to Ely, Minnesota. While we were there, we visited Lacey Squier, a Gustie alum who worked at the Folk School in Ely. According to the Folk Education Association of America, Folk schools arose out of a philosophy that being human “is to accept and take pride in one’s community connection and cultural identity.” The founder of Folk Schools, Christian Kold, believed that education should be accessible to everyone and created them to empower communities. Our group was told that the Ely Folk School taught lessons on Indigenous ways of canoe building, cooking and baking classes, canning techniques, and other arts. Squier suggested that local solutions, such as the lessons taught by the Folk School, have a great impact. The more strengthened the community becomes, the more far-reaching these impacts are. 

Gustavus, or even the greater St. Peter area, does not have a Folk School. However, there are other ways to enact local solutions that are not just through education. We have a strong community that is evidently passionate about change. 

Recently, at the 2025 Greek Awards, Alpha Sigma Tau (AST) won the “Community Service Event of the Year” award for organizing the Ramadan Food Service. Students not affiliated with AST could sign up to help pack and distribute meals for those fasting during Ramadan, to pick up. 

On Saturday, April 5, 2025, the annual Science on Saturday event was hosted. Children from around the St. Peter and Mankato areas were invited to come for the day and learn about various areas of science. Chemistry Club, Society of Physics Students, Tri-Beta, Sustainability Interns, Geology Club, and Biochemistry Club led these lessons, helped facilitate learning, and engaged with the children. 

That same day, the country engaged in the ‘Hands Off!’ protest, public resistance against the current actions of the Trump Administration. Gustie rallied, creating posters and attending the protests, including one in St. Peter. 

On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, the annual Earth Day clean-up will occur. In the past, organizations and individual students and staff have signed up to help beautify the campus in the name of Earth stewardship.

In September, United Christian Ministries and the Chaplain’s Office started the Gustie Pantry, a free food and personal care item shelf in the basement of Old Main. From September to March, almost 2,000 items have gone out to students. 

This semester, Helping Hands, a new organization through the CAO, was created by Senior Lauren Maas and Junior Addison Andrix to provide weekly service events for students to engage with on campus and in the St. Peter community. 

Even the controversial work to bring back Senior Week is an inspirational example of change. Some have criticized that there is more to worry about than Senior Week. Obviously, the heavy air is a strong presence; it demands to be felt in every situation. However, these concerned students have taken action in a way that we can admire. Through petitions, chalking sidewalks, a letter-to-the-editor to the Weekly, and emails to the administration, they have ensured that their voice is heard and that their concerns are recognized. The first step to change is labeling the issue. 

There is even more I could cite about the incredible service and work Gusties have been doing and are doing across campus, sparking long-term change. These events and projects move Gustavus closer to praxis than just philosophy, and action than just hope. Service and local change strengthen the community, mending fractures and divisions. People are able to know that despite circumstances, this community cares and is working towards their best interest. 

I know that Gustavus is not the only place that matters, but it is where we are right now. If we learn leadership skills now, engage in faith, religion, and spirituality now, and form empathy and long-lasting relationships now, imagine what happens when we enter a more global community. 

The air is heavy and sometimes it is so hard for me to see through it. So much happens every day in the world. Where is our hope? It’s in a community that we have chosen to be a part of. It’s knowing that we have agency and opportunities, and the skills to make our community better. Individual inspiration will result in collective action. Local collective action will result in global change. The air is heavy, Gusties, but so is our compassion and love.