 Image C/O Saint Mary's Theatre Program By Emily Brazeal On-Campus Columnist “We all grew up loving dinosaurs” is a completely spot-on statement by playwright Ian August that explains why his play The Excavation of Mary Anning is so enjoyable. Even if we gave up on our childish ambitions of being a paleontologist like in Jurassic Park, our interest is still probably peaked at the mention of these ancient animals. Mary Anning had everything from female empowerment to a talking dog to having every accent imaginable portrayed. It was truly a constantly entertaining show. But let us back up for a second and start from the beginning. On November 1-3 and 8-10 Saint Mary’s Theater Program performed The Excavation of Mary Anning, which details the life of paleontologist Mary Anning, who was active during the 1800s. The play humorously shows the obstacles that Anning–and her dog Tray–had to overcome such things as sexist members of the geological society, creating her own store to sell her found fossils and trying not to get eaten by live dinosaur bones. Of course, even through all of the humor, this play illuminates the difficulty that Anning had to face as a woman to achieve recognition and respect in the academic field. The cast did a wonderful job of portraying this serious story with excellent humor. Ka’Nayah Landers-Daniels, who played Mary Anning, gave it a perfect air of solemnity and dedication necessary to express Mary Anning’s passion for paleontology. It was initially unclear that Anning’s companion Tray was a dog until she started picking up sticks and nibbling on people’s ankles. However, Erin Brady portraying Tray was completely hilarious and kept the audience in laughter from the very beginning when she sprinted across the stage shouting, “Running, Running, Running!” Another intriguing detail of the play was their use of switching gender roles. Connor McGilvary’s portrayal of Anning’s mom conjured up hilarious memories of John Travolta in Hairspray. Lucy Bikahi played many roles but her most memorable was the overly sensual French man Cuvier, who humorously expressed Americans’ stereotypical image of a French person when he declared that he “must remain aloof.” My one complaint is that it took far too long for the enormous dinosaur-skeleton puppets to come out. These giant puppets were extremely well crafted and fascinating to watch as they brought to life Anning’s connection to her digs. The set also helped transport the audience into Mary’s digging experience with English bluffs constructed out of plastic donated by the community. After the actors took their final bow, Ian August and Environmental & Earth Science faculty member Nekesha Williams dug into the bones of the play. August mentioned that he watched a video describing Anning’s previously untold story and was completely fascinated. He was unsure if he was going to write about it until the results of the 2016 election struck. He said that “something clicked” and this began his 8-year journey with Mary Anning. He told the audience that once Anning died, the archaeological society wiped all of her name from the records in an effort to erase her contributions to history. The play ended with Anning still struggling to get recognized for all of her hard work but also showed Mary enlightening a young girl on the joys of paleontology. Even though Anning’s work may not have been fully recognized within her lifetime she was able to pass down her knowledge to the next generation of women in science. This play illuminates the hardship for women in history as well as women now, but it also reminds us that struggles and adversaries don’t prevent us from having a lasting influence on others. Who knew that dinosaurs could have so much meaning behind them? The Excavation of Mary Anning was an overall great show and I cannot wait to see the next one from Saint Mary’s Theater Program.
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 Image c/o Saint Mary’s Official YouTube Channel By Andrew Martinez Cabrera Editor-in-Chief In May, the Board of Trustees approved Roger J. Thompson, EdD, to become the 31st President of Saint Mary’s College of California, beginning his duties over the summer. Pres.. Thompson came to Saint Mary’s after serving 14 years as the University of Oregon’s Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management. He succeeds interim president, Brother Thomas Jones, FSC, who took over from former president Richard Plumb, PhD, serving from July 2021 to June 2023. On Sept. 9, the Office of the President sent out a mass email to all Saint Mary’s students with the subject titled “My September monthly video message!” Attached in the email is a thumbnail that redirects to a video on Saint Mary’s main YouTube page with the video titled “President’s Update: September 2024.” Many of the positions and comments which Pres. Thompson throughout the video follow the throughline of growth for the college. Starting the three-minute video off with expected greetings and congratulatory statements, Pres. Thompson shifts gears to sharing his initial priorities for Saint Mary’s future. Firstly, Pres. Thompson, promises to enhance the student experience both inside and outside the classroom, wishing to “do better.” Elaborating, Pres. Thompson explains that he wants Saint Mary’s to be “the very best in the country” in terms of the student experience, in the hopes that the student experience would be a major pull factor for deciding students across the country. Pres. Thompson’s second point is filling vacant job positions on campus, promising to “[spend] a fair amount of time talking to people all around the country to find the very best talent…” who are ‘eager’ to join the Saint Mary’s community. Building on the first point, Pres. Thompson emphasizes, in the video’s more serious tone, the need to grow enrollment following an enrollment decline in the past few years. This record tracks, deemed “a renowned national expert in enrollment management,” by SMC Office of Marketing & Communications in his official announcement press release. However, Pres. Thompson is confident that the strength of the academic community and student experience will draw interested students to apply to Saint Mary’s, without offering any insight into what those strategies might be. Interestingly, Pres. Thompson, possibly as a preview of how to grow enrollment, announces his efforts to offer new academic programs to Saint Mary’s, hoping to build on the “strong academic foundation” that already exists here. Similarly, Pres. Thompson does not name any programs potentially in development. Pres. Thompson caps off his first video message by talking about the continued implementation of Transformation 2028, Saint Mary’s recent five-year strategic plan to move and evolve into the future. Transformation 2028, adopted in 2023, seeks to “reinvent Saint Mary’s identity as a liberal arts institution,” with initiatives such as extending the college’s reach and impact, as both a Catholic college and a Bay Area school, with aspirations to building its reputation as a global institution the likes of Stanford or UC Berkeley. Much of Transformation 2028’s points are echoed in Pres. Thompson’s rapid points, hoping to continue implementation. On September 18, the GaelAlumni Instagram page posted a video announcing Pres. Thompson’s Golden State Gaels Tour, where the President visited Saint Mary’s alumni in various spots across California. The first tour lasted from September 24 in Pasadena and ended on October 8 in Oakland. Pres. Thompson’s October monthly video, shot in Southern California, was released on October 3 and offered an update to the Golden State Gaels Tour, thanking those who attended. While not offering any new campus updates, Pres. Thompson discussed events that he attended such as the faculty celebration, Saddle Up for Fall and the SMC Museum of Art fall opening. Pres. Thompson wraps up the video by stressing the importance of Fall Preview Day on October 26, hoping to “grow enrollment and enhance our student experience by bringing in larger freshman classes than we have in the past.” By Emily Brazeal On-Campus Columnist Stuffed cows and axe throwing? A strange combination, but one that worked perfectly for Saddle Up for Fall on Saturday, September 28th. The Saddle Up event was a chance to momentarily forget the weekend homework and jump into the beginning of autumn. Walking around, it was fun to see the vast amount of Saint Mary’s students donning cowboy boots and denim. I’m guessing many of us hodge-podged together whatever in our closet looked most like something Dolly Parton would approve of. And Saint Mary’s students didn’t dress up for nothing, De La Salle lawn was packed with food trucks, a petting zoo, pumpkins, bull riding and even live music and line dancing. All a great way to get into the fall mood. Saddle Up began with America’s Got Talent finalist, Preacher Lawson making an appearance in the Soda Center. His light-hearted and original humor left his audience in constant laughter, a perfect escape from the stresses of the fall semester. After the comedy show, Saint Mary’s was able to enjoy live music by Sacramento band, Popular Demand. While listening to the music one could also snap pictures at the photobooth, complete with Western props. A great idea to capture memorable moments with friends and pull out that signature peace sign pose. Food trucks arrived, serving Mediterranean food and shaved ice, while booths provided pretzels and boba. You could see on the happy faces of students that it was nice to get a little break from Oliver. Of course, it wouldn’t be a truly Western event without horses–or more accurately ponies and donkeys. There was a petting zoo full of these cute little critters including miniature pigs, fluffy chickens, and precious rabbits. Although some of the animals were timid, if you followed them for long enough they gave in to your affection. However, if live animals weren’t for you, there was a stuffed animal station where you could take home a miniature cow or horse. If you were worried that your stuffed friend might be cold–stress not, SMC shirts were provided for your animal. Once finished, you could pull out your rusty art skills to paint a pumpkin of your choice. For those more ambitious, there was axe throwing and mechanical bull riding. The mechanical bull riding was fun for those who participated and for those who didn’t, as the best part is simply watching your friends get thrown off. Your friends might tell you that they celebrated the beginning of fall by getting themselves a pumpkin spice latte, but petting pigs and painting pumpkins seems more suitable. I hope you attended this exciting SMC event and now have a pumpkin to decorate your dorm room–at least until the Christmas lights come out.  Image c/o Saint Mary's College Museum of Art IG Page By Emily Brazeal On-Campus Columnist On September 19, Saint Mary’s Museum of Art officially welcomed its new exhibit, Isole: A Voyage Among my Dreams, by Cianne Fragione. Fragione, a Bay Area-based artist and heavily influenced by her Italian heritage, spent her earlier years performing as a classical dancer and is now known for her work in abstract expressionism. The museum currently displays 33 of her art pieces, over multiple decades of Fragione’s career. A day prior to the opening, Britt Royer–the museum's curator–sat down with Fragione to discuss the exhibit. It was encouraging to see even before the talk began, Royer and Fragione chatting as if they were old college friends. When Royer offered Fragione a cup of coffee, Cianne chimed back, “I’m already too wired, you won’t be able to shut me up!” Once introductions were through, the first piece they dove into was Fragione’s Ritorno, a three-panel piece that intertwined a variety of different found objects together. She likes to use a technique called assemblage, similar to collage but instead with 3D objects. Fragione paused to say, “Objects are history…they tell stories.” The amazing part of these pieces is that every observer may interpret the story differently. The piece has such delicate objects such as children’s ballet shoes, contrasted with large, contorted metal strips. Fragione expressed how much she loves “combining the masculine and the feminine.” Royer brought up Fragione’s 2023 piece called Bundles: Secret Textiles, which quite literally consist of bundles of paper entwined together with fishing wire. Fragione commented about wanting to gift her old diaries to her children, but after reflection realized she could never share the contents. She instead transformed them into a beautiful piece, publicly displayed but topics never divulged. Royer commented that Fragione is at the same time, “revealing and concealing.” Fragione uses a vast amount of different materials in her artwork but one consistent medium seen is oil paints. They are used in such paintings as Sacred Cheese, Mediterraneo (Montale), and Out of the Sea Rose the Country/I Dreamed. She sighed saying, “I love oil paint paint–I just lust for it” Fragione’s background in dance repeatedly came up throughout the talk due to the amount of movement and motion shown in her pieces. Fragione stated that although she does not traditionally dance as often as she did in former years, she is “just dancing differently” now through her art. Even proudly stating that sometimes she dances on her art. When asked who her intended audience was, Fragione laughed: “The first person is me!” Fragione went on to state that whoever wishes to look at her paintings is her audience. Her confidence was refreshing as she claimed that her art, “is not meant to please everybody.” One of the most intriguing things about the collection and her as an artist is her connection to her audience. The collection is called “A Voyage Among my Dreams” however Fragione commented, “It’s your dream, not mine.” She expressed how she wishes everyone would interpret her art as they please or, quoting her, “trust what you’re seeing” You can now view Fragione’s collection at Saint Mary’s Museum of Art here on campus. Take time to appreciate the beauty of the pieces and consider the story or dream they reveal to you. A Goodbye Letter from the Editor-in-Chief.  Image c/o Marcus Soller By Madison Sciba Editor-in-Chief When I joined the Collegian my sophomore year at Saint Mary’s I never thought that I would become the Editor-in-Chief. I was hired as a sports reporter but soon realized that it was not me. After writing for every section of the newspaper, I eventually landed on opinion. For the past two years I have been writing opinion articles on everything from Disney remakes to our culture of glorifying true crime. I always like to tell people that my job on the paper is as a “professional complainer.”
As a sophomore trying out journalism for the first time, I never thought that I would become the Editor-in-Chief. I joined because I loved to write and wanted to do something other than rowing. Never did I think that I would be spending a good portion of my senior year fighting to keep the Collegian functioning. The 2022/2023 school year was a difficult one and we came very close to losing the Collegian as a student organization at Saint Mary’s. The majority of the 2023/2024 school year was spent applying for funding, trying to figure out how to publish a newspaper, and just getting the Collegian functioning. Last school year we only had one print edition and were barely able to publish articles online. This semester the Collegian successfully published five print editions with this one being the sixth. We have partnered with the school radio station KSMC, the Foundationalist, and the American Journalism classes to get more students involved with campus journalism. We had an extremely successful rebranding which included new logos and an update to the website. This school year is coming to an end and graduation is approaching. With that I have great pride in how this school year has gone for the Collegian. I have strong faith in Andrew and his ability to lead the Collegian as the next Editor-in-Chief. I just know that he will continue the work we have started and will continue to improve the Collegian. I would like to thank a few people who really made this year of the Collegian possible. Dr. Nolan Higdon was an incredible staff advisor and was really an essential part of revitalizing the Collegian. His dedication to student journalism and willingness to fight for the Collegian has really meant the world to me and the rest of the team. Lori Erokan, the administrative assistant for the Communications department, whenever something was needed or a random question appeared, Lori was always there to give answers and provide support. We could not have had a successful year without the help and support of Lori and the Saint Mary’s Communications department. Finally I would like to thank Jen Herzog from Student Involvement and Leadership. I know I can be a bit of a pain with my constant emails, but Jen was really an essential part of getting the Collegian back up and running. Whenever questions arose about funding or club status, Jen was there to answer and provide support. To the Saint Mary’s Community, I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to leave my mark here at Saint Mary’s. I really found a place among the other writers at the Collegian and without it I don’t know where I would be today. Writing articles has become such an important part of my life that I hope to keep writing for papers after graduation. Thank you to everyone who made this year possible and I wish the best of luck to next year's staff, hoping that they have an even better year than we did.  Image c/o Bay Area Student Shorts Film Festival By Drew Paxman Visiting Columnist You may recognize Jennifer Leo’s name from her work on Pixar’s animated feature Toy Story 2. Or perhaps you are familiar with her work on Steven Spielberg’s science fiction thriller Minority Report. Maybe her work on the documentary 24 Hours on Craiglist stands out. Regardless, all of her success across these different genres stems from the first short film she produced as a student at San Francisco State.
“Short films are a calling card,” Leo addressed the audience of eager filmmakers and enthusiasts as Keynote Speaker for the 2024 Bay Area Student Shorts Film Festival (BASS). “[They are a] great way for you to get attention and for you to get jobs.” Leo’s speech opened a night of community and celebration for high school and college student filmmakers that gathered in the Soda Center at Saint Mary’s College of California on April 13. Out of a pool of over 100 film submissions, 11 were selected to be presented at the festival. From those 11 films, five were selected for individual awards in six separate categories. John Angelo Serrano, a student at California College of the Arts and the director behind “Best Animated” winner Pips Delivery felt disappointed that he had to wait until after his first year of college to create a film. Inspired by his own commute to campus, he began animating right away. “I felt like it was kind of whimsical in a way that I am traveling so much just to have a three hour class,” he said. Festival Coordinator Megan Young was ecstatic when Pips Delivery won “Best Animation.” “It was so adorable,” she remarked. Lost in the Woods was another big winner, taking home the “Best Cinematography” prize. The documentary film tells the story of Patrick Barnes, a dancer who “gave up a traditional career in dance to perform for people living on the margins of society.” “Lost in the Woods was amazing,” said Young. “It was beautifully shot, the story and the narrative were amazing and flowed so well. The two directors put so much effort into it and it really does show on the screen.” BASS Programming Coordinator Olivia Watkin gave some love to another animated film, Meghan G. Graham’s Roadkill Jamboree. “There’s no words to describe what she did,” explained Watkin. “Every person I’ve talked to has been…gobsmacked…it’s stop motion animation, it’s special effects, it’s a synthesis of all these different techniques.” BASS has been showcasing student films since 2018, when Saint Mary’s Communications student Kasey James decided to create the festival as a part of her capstone project. Young and Watkin have organized the last two film festivals. “The day after BASS last year, we met to start the planning for this year. We’ve been planning this for 365 days,” Young claimed. The pair had a vision: to expand upon the original “theater-screening style” event by making it semi-formal and including “catered dinner, guest speakers, coffee trucks, awards, plaques. Everything that you can imagine that would hopefully be at the Oscars,” Young described. This year’s festival coincided with the news of a new major coming to Saint Mary’s in the fall–Media Production, a degree conceptualized by Communications professor and documentary filmmaker Jason Jakaitis. The major, as described by Watkin, is “built to double major, built to be a minor, built to be an opportunity for on-campus leadership roles.” As for the future, BASS will continue to highlight student filmmakers from around the Bay Area long after the graduation of seniors Young and Watkin. “I think what’s next for BASS is whatever the community wants,” said Watkin. “And I think that’s the best way to have it. I think that’s the only way it becomes sustainable, I think that’s the only way it really becomes part of the [Saint Mary’s] community.” As both BASS and these student filmmakers continue to grow, Leo’s advice remains profound: “Everything takes a decade. Be patient and enjoy each little step along the way because you will get to where you want to go.” Students interested in planning the 2025 Bay Area Student Shorts Film Festival can follow bayareastudentshorts and filmclub_smc on Instagram, or can contact Jakaitis.  Image c/o SMC Performing Arts By Andrew Martinez Cabrera Associate Editor Starting on April 18, Saint Mary’s Theatre Department premieres their 2024 spring production, Sent it to the Moon: A Circle of Short Plays. Led by theatre’s capstone class of 2024 in a nearly year-long process of development, this team of students, including help from non-capstone students, have worked to bring to life a series of eight short plays. These plays are either adaptations of existing one-act productions or original productions written specifically for Send It To The Moon.
The involved capstone students played varying roles in the production as they were either part of the cast ensembles for each play, directing/writing the production, or involved in the technical aspects of the spring production, with positions such as set designer, stage manager, or props designer. In a letter sent out to faculty members, students, and patrons, theatre professor Shannon R. Davis described the excitement of watching the capstone leadership produce the show, “They have procured a show like artistic producers; part whimsy, part drama, part darkness, part light–the moon is the inspiration that informs the work. In their artistry, they’ve been building towards this for years, and now they are ready to share their craft and skill with you. I’m so excited for the collective vision they’ve created.” Whereas last year’s show Willow & Houston’s centered around leaving college, Send It The Moon’s motif relates to the moon, as well as themes of, “water, circles, and second chances,” written in promotional material. These motifs carry thematic resonance in each of the eight plays, while also informing things such as the set design. Each play has a distinct aesthetic working for it, positioned in different and unique temporal spaces, ranging from “Merchant sailors in a Poe story, to Helen of Troy, to a modern woman vying for a part in a renaissance faire play,” as written in their official website’s description. It’s akin to last year’s fall theatre production of A Midsummer’s Night Dream, borrowing from multiple aesthetics and not subscribing to solely one visual look. Send It To The Moon goes one step further and ties it to its variety of different narratives, each possessing its own unique flair thematically and artistically, connected via the thru line of the moon and the various other motifs. In a promotional video, senior capstone student Emma Ledesema, starring in Helen and directing Pull of the Moon, said “we want people to just come to the theatre and feel like the theatre can represent them.” Tickets for Send It To The Moon can be found on the box office page of Saint Mary’s performing arts website. The shows run from April 18 until April 21 for five performances.  Image c/o Bandak Project Management By Lillian La Salle Associate Editor Nik Bandak, CEO and Founder of Bandak Project Management, is a Saint Mary’s alum who studied Finance in the Business School’s Honors Finance Program. After graduating from Saint Mary’s College in 2008, Nik began his career during the Great Recession by working for a concrete subcontractor in the Bay Area. He credits Saint Mary's and their alumni network for connecting him with employment through a fellow alum.
Bandak later moved to the Middle East where he worked for an internationally-recognized firm, Bechtel. After returning from his time in the Middle East, he was exposed to all things real estate, master planning, and construction while working as one of Betchel’s first employees in the construction management division. After 10 years of working with the firm in San Diego, Bandak leveraged his expertise in the science and technology sectors with hopes to scale his consulting business into a larger project management company. This dream has grown into his current company, Bandak Project Management. In this interview, he shares some of his tried and true advice, life and career experiences stemming from his time at Saint Mary's, and his dedication to implementing a mission-driven mindset in all areas of his life. How would you describe the makeup of the Bandak Management Project? Bandak Project Management is a tried-and-true third-party Owner’s Representative project and construction management firm headquartered in San Diego. Construction management is a complicated, multi-faceted process. To narrow it down, in real estate, there's a segment where you're getting the financing to build a project: buying land, or leasing space. Then there's the development side, which is your architects, engineers, permitting, contracting, etc. Then, there's the occupancy. This includes the chair you're sitting in, the furniture, the desk, the signage; everything you need to make the facility run. Bandak PM is the blend between the idea, how to make the idea work, and ultimately how to execute the idea all the way through occupancy. Can you give us an example of how this would look if you were developing a new Saint Mary’s building? We begin by asking ourselves, “How do we make the idea work, and then how do we execute the idea all the way through occupancy?” So, for example, Saint Mary's College might call me and say that they want a new building, such as dorms or an additional student gym. We then explain how long it will roughly take, how much it will cost, outline the approval process, and the strategy of how we will successfully deliver the project. Bandak PM provides the roadmap to the whole process from start to finish; we are the “North Star” in the sense that we point you in the direction, then guide you to accomplish your goal. In this case, Bandak PM would be guiding Saint Mary’s to get students in their housing, fans and athletes to a gym, etc. What was the most helpful thing Saint Mary’s taught you during your time here? How to do what I do, but ethically, with a mission in mind. There are multiple ways to execute a project, but there are really only so many ways to execute a project ethically and with a mission in mind. So I would say, thinking back, there's quite a bit that goes into combining financial integrity with personal integrity to execute and treat people correctly throughout the entire process. This is something Saint Mary’s definitely helped me foster in myself: the belief that dedication to an ethical missionserves the broader community. What were some of your favorite memories at Saint Mary’s? My favorite Saint Mary’s memory has to be meeting my wife. She played volleyball while I played baseball. Now we have three young children, all boys. We're coming back to Saint Mary's actually in a couple of weeks for the Gonzaga game, so we're excited about that. If you could go back to 2004-2008, what is a piece of advice you would have given to your younger self? I would tell my freshman self that everything's going to be okay; don't take life so seriously at that point in time. I think that's really important. For both first-year and fourth-year students, my advice is that it's so important to be humble and have empathy. Always maintain perspective and appreciate your bold ideas. You might graduate with a vision of what your life will look like, but meet someone only to have that vision change for the better. Who you are today will evolve. While some people join the working world and achieve everything they ever wanted to achieve, it’s important to be steady and maintain your focus. Learning how to focus is a big theme on our team. If you're going to commit to something, commit yourself wholly. I would also advise having an amazing intensity behind your passions so that you don't waver when things get a little difficult. Truly exercise that commitment and focus so you can pursue whatever your definition of happiness might be, whether it's getting married, starting a family, or founding a business. Whatever it be, commit to it, understand what your purpose is, and go for it. If you could leave us with one last thought, what would it be? It's okay if things change. You come into your 20’s having an idea of what you want to be when you grow up, but by the time you're 30, you might meet someone or have an experience that changes your focus in life and that's okay. Hopefully, when you're 60+ years old and you have reset your goals and your purpose, you've always been happy throughout the process. I think it’s really important for you to continue to be mindful and stay present throughout your life.  Image c/o Gael Women in Business By Madison Sciba Editor-in-Chief Aimed towards women who are studying business, Gael Women in Business (GWiB) is a student organization targeted towards helping Saint Mary’s students prepare for success in the world of business. The goal of GWiB is to encourage and promote the skills that would be helpful for their members to not only be successful academically but also in their future professions.
“We want to create a club where they can find a community of other women within the school and they can form connections with other female students,” said VP of marketing Amanda Carter ’24. To prepare women for a future in the business world, Carter explains that Gael Women in Business holds “events that help students work on their personal and professional development.” These kinds of events include LinkedIn workshops, free professional headshots, a real estate panel, and a women in tech panel. In addition to professional development events, GWiB also puts on other less professional oriented activities that promote team bonding amongst members. Most recently, GWiB hosted a Galentine’s Day meeting where students could make flower bouquets and enjoy a variety of snacks. Events to keep an eye out for the rest of the semester include: a Target recruitment event, a “Freshening Your Pitch” workshop, and a “de-stress” event. Anyone of any major is welcome to attend an event to learn/develop skills that will later benefit them in the professional world. For more information you can contact GWiB at: Instagram: @gaelwomeninbusiness LinkedIn: Gael Women in Business - Saint Mary's College of California Remind Chat: text @gwib2024 to 81010 Email address: [email protected]  Image c/o @smcgaels on Instagram By Isabella Wynn Visiting Columnist Basketball season is in full swing and the Gael’s are gearing up for some of the most exciting games of the season. Our spirited Gael Force executives are looking forward to a jam-packed semester. In asking Gael Force President Stefano Costa and Treasurer RJ Dore some questions, I gained some insight on the inner workings of Gael Force and what students can expect from this semester’s sporting events.
Stefano and RJ are both very passionate about school spirit and sports. RJ shared with me that he enjoys how being a Gael Force executive “provides a challenge” while Stefano simply enjoys getting “people excited about sporting events on campus.” Both of them, along with the rest of their team, put in a lot of work to plan events. From tailgates to watch parties, Gael Force represents Saint Mary’s passion for competitive sports. Being in the student section at basketball games is electric. Stefano and RJ both shared that their favorite cheer is “easily the ‘Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi,’ which [is done] when one of our players from Australia hits a 3-pointer or has a dunk.” Stefano recognizes that other students also love this cheer, saying, “it's one that I think the whole arena loves to do…the whole [crowd] was doing it the other day when Ducas hit that half-court buzzer-beater.” SMC’s energy is high this season and we can thank Gael Force for keeping Saint Mary’s spirited culture alive. Some people might be wondering how they can become a part of Gael Force. Stefano and RJ shared two different ways students can become part of Gael Force. First, every Saint Mary’s student is eligible to “sign up using the link in [their] Instagram bio, @smc_gaelforce and [students] pay a one-time fee that covers [them] for all [school] years” (Stefano Costa). Unfortunately, Saint Mary’s will be saying goodbye to many Gael Force executives this year as many of their members are graduating seniors. However, that fortunately means that a second way students can get involved with Gael Force is applying to be an executive. Each year signups and interviews are held for executive positions on Gael Force. RJ stated that he and his fellow seniors want to leave Gael Force in “good hands with people that will put in the work to try and bring this community of students together.” If you're passionate about sports at Saint Marys and school spirit, keep an eye out for these future opportunities. This Gael Force Exec Team wants to leave behind a legacy. In doing so, they hope that future Saint Mary’s students will be just as spirited as they are. However, being on Gael Force is not simply an easy, fun job. I asked both Stefano and RJ to rate the average SMC student section and provide any advice they have to give regarding attendance and behavior at sporting events. Stefano rated our student sections a 10/10, stating that especially during tougher WCC competition “the crowd gets into it and you can feel the bleachers shaking.” RJ on the other had was a bit of a tougher rater, giving SMC a 7/10. He shared that “there is always room for improvement. If you go to a game [Gael Force] almost expects you to be loud and be a part of the crowd instead of just sitting there. We want everyone to be excited about Saint Mary’s sports and it brings down the spirit when not everyone is involved.” Gael Force is not only responsible for leading the energy of the student section but they are also responsible for the behavior of students. As our spirit leaders they want students “to be as loud as possible and to have fun, but without going too overboard” (RJ Dore). It is important to remember to “play it cool and trust the team playing is gonna get the job done no matter what” (Stefano Costa). The student section can't control what is going on on the court or the field–we simply need to commit to bringing great, competitive energy to games and being good sports at the same time. So what does Gael Force have in store for us next? Fortunately, here are some hints as to what we can look forward to this semester. Some of you might remember Gerald the Party Giraffe, RJ shared with me that “there have been talks about him making an appearance. If the people want Gerald out there, I think we can bring him out of hiatus for the end of the year and even the postseason.” If the masses want Gerald, Gael Force might just give us that. Stefano also mentioned that “this year we are bussing 50 students out to Las Vegas for the WCC tournament which is something we haven't done in a long time; it'll be good to support the team all the way out there.” In addition to a potential Gerald appearance and a Las Vegas trip this spring, we also have the highly anticipated SMC vs. Gonzaga Men’s Basketball game coming up. The boys didn't want to give too much away, however you all should know that they will be hosting a tailgate in the 1928 Pub and Dryden Hall to look forward to on March 2nd. Stefano also hinted towards some “signature drinks inspired by some fan-favorite players.” The Gael’s have won home games vs. Gonzaga the past two years and odds are looking good again this year. Our boys took home a win against Gonzaga in Spokane on February 3rd and “it's on us to help out the team come away with a W to end the season” (RJ Dore). It’s been a great year so far Gaels, let’s keep bringing the energy for the rest of the spring semester to help our teams close out their seasons successfully. Get excited. Get ready. Remember to have fun, cheer loud, and represent Saint Mary’s the best you can. Go Gaels! |