Grace LaTourelle-
Alpha Sigma Tau (AST) is hosting their annual brunch on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to noon. The theme of this year’s brunch is ‘Know Your Worth’, and will take place in Alumni Hall. The free brunch will be accompanied by a presentation with speaker and Mental Health Therapist Jessica Auel, a performance by Gustavus Women’s A Cappella, and a silent auction.
AST’s mission is to promote the social, ethical, and cultural development of their members, as read on the Gustavus website. AST’s philanthropy encompasses six aspects of well-being: occupational, physical, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, and social. This is reflected when coming up with developing themes for their initiatives.
“When brainstorming theme ideas, a common thread among the ones we were throwing out was that the basis of a healthy relationship is self-respect and knowing what you deserve so you can make sure you are receiving it in your relationships,” Senior and Community Relations Committee for AST member, Maren Twedt said.
‘Know Your Worth’ similarly succeeds brunch themes such as red flags and toxic relationships.
“Know your worth…centered on, when you’re in a [toxic] relationship, you tend to get brought down. So this is just…hey, no matter what, you are amazing, you’re great…” Senior and Vice President of Community Relations for AST, Chloe Keller said.
Members of AST want to create an event that reflects the values of the organizations they support. AST supports the non-profit organization CADA, which will receive all donations and proceeds from the event. CADA, previously known as the Community Against Domestic Abuse, has since dropped the title to encompass all forms of sexual violence and assault, not just domestic. They are based in Mankato.
“This is an important topic to be talking about, especially CADA being in such dire straits right now,” Keller said.
CADA’s mission, according to its website, is to provide safety for victims of sexual assault and abuse. They accomplish this through education, advocacy, and shelter. CADA and similar programs have recently experienced cuts in government funding.
“Mankato CADA is actually at risk of shutting down. There have been a lot of other CADA sites across Minnesota that have had to shut down because of cuts. So it’s because of people in groups like AST that support CADA, is what helps keep them running,” Keller asserted.
While RSVP for the Know Your Worth brunch has been closed, Gusties not able to attend can still donate and support AST and their mission with CADA. The link to the crowdchange fund is on the Gustavus Website under the AST section or can be found at https://ast.crowdchange.co/34913
AST hopes that Gusties in attendance reflect and take valuable information and insight from the event and speaker. The goal is that the event better educates the community about healthy relationships so that they can identify and avoid abusive relationships.
“I will be speaking about how to foster healthy relationships by living authentically, which we are able to do fully when we know how worthy of love and belonging we truly are,” Auel said. “I think this is an important topic because often we sacrifice our values for the sake of relationships, or we prioritize the needs of others over our own needs—which negatively impacts our ability to be our genuine selves.”
AST and Auel asserted that this is a relevant and applicable theme for Gusties and the lives outside of Gustavus.
“As college students, you have more agency than you ever have before over who you choose to connect with; so you have the unique opportunity to learn how to create a positive feedback loop for relationships—by creating relationships that fulfill your needs, you are able to live more authentically, and the more authentically you live, the healthier your relationships will become,” Auel said. “By learning these skills early, you are setting yourself up to have richer, more meaningful connections for the rest of your life.”
Alpha Sigma Tau’s constitution stated that it was instituted in 1899 to provide women with networking and skills to thrive and succeed. The AST Gusties on campus appreciate the support they receive in their endeavors, especially this year’s brunch which has over 120 people RSVPed from the Gustavus, St. Peter, and Mankato communities.
“We are so honored to be able to do this important work and so glad that the Gustavus community supports us,” Twedt said.
This is an opportunity for the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority to connect with Gustavus students and promote their and CADA’s mission.
“To any Gusties in attendance, thank you for supporting us and our philanthropy, I hope that it can shed some light on some really prevalent societal issues. It is greatly appreciated to see support from the student body for what we do,” Junior AST member Amelia Pluth said.