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Gabriella Fernbaugh:
College students are notorious for not eating enough vegetables.
Tyler Abrams:
An on-campus community garden aims to change that.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
I'm Gabriella Fernbaugh.
Tyler Abrams:
And I'm Tyler Abrams. And this is State Press Play. Also on this week's episode...
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
... Puppet Club starts back up soon, so we sat down with the club's president to learn more. But first...
Last Thursday, Jewish students gathered outside the Memorial Union on the Tempe campus to pray for unity. State Press opinion editor, Mia Osmonbekov covered the gathering. Hello, Mia.
Mia Osmonbekov:
Hi.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
So I understand the prayer is known as Shema. Can you describe how it is performed?
Mia Osmonbekov:
Yeah, so based on the people I've talked to, and what I've read about it, is Shema prayer is essentially a prayer of unity and oneness with God. It's said in the mornings and evenings by Jewish men while they're putting on Tefillin. So Tefillin itself refers to the two black leather boxes containing verses from the Torah that Jewish people have. And it has leather straps attached to it. And so then the guys then wrap it on their left arm. And it's usually performed in you know, in privacy, like in synagogues or individually. So it's significant that these Jewish students want to do it together in a public place. So Dylan Marks a freshman studying finance told me what Tefillin meant to him.
Dylan Marks:
There's hundreds of Jewish students on campus and being able to go to the center of campus and wrap tefillin, it's one of the most holy things you can do. It's what's called a mitzvah, being able to stand in the center of campus and do something together. I think it'll be representative for all Jewish Americans.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
So who organized this gathering and what exactly were they praying for?
Mia Osmonbekov:
Yeah, so the organization behind the event, this initiative was led by students, but the organization was Chabad at ASU. It's a chapter of the larger Chabad international organization. So according to the website, Chabad ASU is a home away from home for Jewish students. And the rabbi said the prayer was intended to bring ASU Jewish students together. There was like 20 or so people at the event. Rabbi Tiechtel, who's the executive director of Chabad at ASU explained the importance of having this community.
To hear more from Osmonbekov, please tune in to State Press Play.
READ MORE: CHABAD AT ASU UNITES JEWISH STUDENTS IN PRAYER, CALLS FOR OTHER UNIVERSITIES TO FOLLOW
Tyler Abrams:
The Puppet Club here at ASU is making something of a comeback despite having only been registered last month. I'm here with Brianna Mertzel, President of the Puppet Club to talk about the club's future and why you should join. Thanks for coming on the podcast Brianna.
Brianna Mertzel:
Hi, thanks for having me.
Tyler Abrams:
So Brianna, what exactly is puppet club?
Brianna Mertzel:
So in the puppet club, we like to promote the art of puppetry. We do workshops, we do performances, we have club activities, we like to talk about the different kinds of puppetry. There are hand puppets, paper puppets and people forget that stop motion puppets are also a form of puppet and we'd like to put on shows and have fun in the club.
Tyler Abrams:
That's interesting. So it's not just physical puppetry, it's also animation as well?
Brianna Mertzel:
Yeah, so puppetry in itself is kind of like a form of animation. If you think about it, there is the physical and in-time puppetry, like when you think of puppets, you kind of think of like the Muppets and Sesame Street like Elmo. But there are also forms of stop motion puppets, which there are different kinds of mediums and stop motion puppets as well like paper puppets and then like clay puppets. And then when you think of movies, like Coraline, you think of the actual stop motion puppets. And in past years, we have had different kinds of workshops. We have had people coming out, demonstrating hand puppets and different kinds of puppets that they've used in like shows and movies, like Sesame Street and stuff. But we also have had workshops with people that actually make stop motion puppets that have gone into feature films.
To hear more from Mertzel, please tune in to State Press Play.
The audio is the only form of this story.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
Interested in understanding sustainable food sourcing? The Garden Commons on ASU's Polytechnic campus reconnects people to where food comes from while supporting and producing a sustainable food system. I'm here with State Press videographer Ellie Willard who checked out the Garden Commons. Hello, Ellie.
Ellie Willard:
Hi.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
So what is the Garden Commons? And what does it provide for ASU students?
Ellie Willard:
So the Garden Commons is a community garden space that is located on the Polytechnic campus. And it provides an array of things for students, most notably, the lovely green space that everyone can enjoy with a ton of herbs, a ton of flowers, and a ton of growing food. But along with anyone who goes there, they can definitely get educated on agriculture and sustainable food production.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
And why is purchasing your food from a garden or farmer's market better than buying from a grocery store?
Ellie Willard:
It tends to be a bit fresher than the preservatives placed in stuff at the grocery store. And I think it contributes to a great community. The Garden Commons in particular is mostly ran by students, either in volunteers or student workers. So those are students producing the food and then that's just going back to the students to get that food. So it's just a lovely little infrastructure there to see community working that way. And that can be seen outside of the Garden Commons, farmers markets, stuff like that locally. And I think garden areas like that kind of show the opportunities that are available with community spaces.
To hear more from Willard, please tune in to State Press Play.
WATCH MORE: ASU'S GARDEN COMMONS OFFERS FREE FOOD TO STUDENTS
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
And that’s all for this week’s State Press Play. I’m Gabriella Fernbaugh.
Tyler Abrams:
And I’m Tyler Abrams. State Press Play is produced and mixed by our podcast desk editor, Amber Victoria Singer. Gabriella and I did some additional editing. Our original music is by Ellie Willard and Jake Leroux.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
Special thanks to our managing team, Alexis Heichman and Reece Andrews.
Tyler Abrams:
You can check out all these stories and more on statepress.com.
Gabriella Fernbaugh:
See you next week, Devils.
