In April, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Campus Activities Board (CAB) hosted a Chalk the Walk event outside of the Student Union.  

Aimed at spreading positivity to students across campus, the event opened space for UWL students to pick up a pre-packaged bag of chalk and to write messages to students on campus sidewalks.  

UWL senior Jenna Zimmerman participated in the Chalk the Walk event. “Right now there’s just so much negative stuff in the media and just online in general, and I think it’s important to focus on the positive sometimes especially when things are bad,” said Zimerman. “The positive is what gets you through it.” 

CAB staff member Maddy Atkinson said, “We’re all stressed out, especially without any breaks right now. So we decided with outdoor programming starting, we wanted to kick it off with something fun and positive.”  

Atkinson is a Rochester, Minn native and art education major. She said that CAB events have become a way to meet new people and enjoy the community. “I’m a freshman, so this is my first year here, and we haven’t really gotten to know people,” said Atkinson. “We’re all going through such a hard time and mental health has obviously been a huge issue that’s been coming up more and more. [Positivity] is probably the most important thing to make it through everything.” 

“Positivity is like the best thing you can give, and it’s free and simple, and it’ll change a person’s day sometimes. You never know what they’re going through,” said Atkinson. “It’s so important to be kind and positive to everyone all the time.”  

Atkinson said that something that brings positivity into her life is working for CAB. “I love it so much,” said Atkinson. “I get a chance to plan all of these events for my fellow students and try to bring a little joy and fun.”  

CAB hosts many events including BINGO, trivia, and crafts. “It’s so fun to see everyone come into Whitney on Wednesdays to come get crafts. We have people that come every week, and we just can’t wait to see them,” said Atkinson. 

CAB also hosts weekly movies that are free and available to all students on a streaming platform. “With the movies, we were so glad we could get a virtual cinema so people can still hang out with their friends and watch a movie on the weekend, even though we don’t have our theater open,” said Atkinson. “Bringing the little bits of joy to campus has got to be my favorite part.”  

Atkinson said that CAB has measures to protect against COVID-19 at all of their events. “We pack everything with a mask. Crafts are left out to sit for two days before,” said Atkinson. “We wash our hands before and we sanitize throughout. We have an outdoor sanitizing station that we have everyone sanitize before they grab a bag. Then we’re constantly washing down stuff, if we have our table cloth off, which also gets washed.”  

“We ask that [students] follow university guidelines as we still have them in place.” Atkinson said those interested in participating in events on campus should be fully masked and physically distanced.  

Atkinson said that students who are interested in CAB events or other events on campus should feel free to join in. “Come join our events. We’ve got so much fun stuff planned every week and I know a bunch of other organizations are starting,” said Atkinson. “The REC has a lot of really fun stuff coming up. We’re planning Battleship out in Drake Field with them, and campus clean-up. We’re really just trying to bring all that positivity and let people interact as vaccinations are coming out and COVID numbers coming down.” 

For more information on future CAB events or how to get involved in events on campus, check out the UWL CAB Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. 

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Photo taken by Blake McCoy.