Xochilt Garcia
Editor in Chief
Rather than do something for others this Valentine’s Day, students can express self-love and spend a moment with themselves at a crafting event from noon to 2 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Central Academic Building lobby at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
The Office of First-Year Experience is hosting “Don’t Treat Yourself Like a Stranger: Love Ya-Self” to spread positivity and let students take a step back and be nice to themselves, said Nizet Garcia, a peer leader at the office.
Supplies for the event will include canvases, mirrors, markers and other crafting materials for students to create positive and self-affirming portraits.
The event will have enough supplies for 80 to 100 students.
Garcia said she came up with the general idea, and her co-worker, Lina Trinidad, pinpointed the importance of self-love and being kind to oneself.
Garcia said participants will enjoy hot chocolate, which is fitting for an occasion that is supposed to make students feel warm inside.
The event will take precautions for COVID-19 by spreading out the tables, wiping them down after use and offering hand sanitizer and face masks to participants.
Attendees can receive credit for the First -ear Seminar Common Experience assignment. Students enrolled in a First-Year Seminar class are required to attend at least one Common Experience event to reflect and build a closer community.
The Common Experience program has included “Painting with Strangers” in the fall and other “Don’t Treat Yourself Like a Stranger” events this spring.
The use of the term “stranger” in this event stems from the book being read by all students taking the First-Year Seminar course at A&M-San Antonio this semester, which is “Talking to Strangers” by Malcom Gladwell. The book explores themes of miscommunication, misunderstanding and leaning into the unknown, said Garcia.
Garcia said organizers moved the event from its original location in the CAB courtyard due to concerns of possible inclement weather.
To register for the event, visit JagSync.
For more information, email fye@tamusa.edu, call 210-784-1435 or visit the Office of First-Year Experience in Room 204 of Patriots’ Casa.
