on YouTube
Last week, the Student Government released the first episode of Speak Up, a podcast designed to give students a look into the ethos of different clubs. Announced on USG’s Instagram and uploaded to Youtube, Speak Up is an extension of the administration’s aim to further connect and organize the student body.
Eliel Mizarhi is a lower sophomore serving as the USG Club Director and plays the role of interviewer on the podcast. He is utilizing a form of communication that has really taken off in the last few years, and for good reason. Podcasts can be produced on a non-existent budget, allow for a coveted long-form conversation, and are easily accessible to large groups of people. Speak Up hopes to leverage these advantages to make good on their mission of helping students become more connected with the college.
A podcast, according to Mizarhi, also allows for “putting [clubs] in a certain spotlight that can help students understand what their club is all about and getting to know our student leaders in a much more intimate way that one wouldn’t have access to if you just walked into a club.”
Clubs have long been an integral part of life at Brooklyn College for many students. Being a venerated commuter school, however, means that extracurricular activities have not always been easy for students to get involved with.
“When I was a freshman, one of the big things for me was that Brooklyn College has so many different clubs and they offer you so many different aspects that you can be a part of but I just got really lost,” said Mizarhi.
The fact that life on campus has been exported to Blackboard, Facebook groups, Instagram DMs, and Zoom calls only fuel the need for students to connect with their institution. Student clubs are facing unique challenges this semester and the biggest one is curating a sort of community without a physical place to meet. Speak Up aims to showcase clubs and allow them to make their case for why it would be worthwhile for students to join.
The first episode of the podcast was a conversation with Kimora McGregor, who is the Treasurer of the Psychology Club. The episode, produced entirely by Mizarhi, is a testament to the sophomore Club Director’s first attempt at producing a podcast.
“It was my first time and I am recording using my earphones, on my laptop, and not using any crazy software, just a basic recording program called Audacity,” replied Mizarhi when asked about the current scale of production.
While the first episode wasn’t confined to the same production standards as This American Life, the podcast plans to serve as a channel for students to learn more about clubs and life on campus.
The episode with McGregor discussed the role of mental health for students during a pandemic. They chatted about what it’s like to be a student at this time and also some of the different contours of combating deteriorating mental health. One piece of advice from McGregor was to keep a close eye on your body for signs of your mental health not being entirely up to par, because your body reacts before your mind does.
“If you notice a large change or a subtle change, then before it escalates, you could probably stop it before it gets to that point,” said McGregor.
While not all clubs will be able to give psychological advice for staying in the saddle, there is plenty to learn from a vast and diverse collection of student clubs. Speak Up has plans to interview a number of clubs and host multiple student leaders for discussions in order to give the student body the feeling of being connected.