By Danny Gage
Youngstown State University Student Government Association created its very own podcast last December.
Tuesday Tea Time, the new YSU SGA podcast, first aired Dec. 8 and has since released a total of five episodes. The podcast was created to shed light on campus life for students and help those who feel disconnected from the university amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
SGA president Justin Shaughnessy, one of the podcast hosts, said students don’t have the same access to information they used to, and he wants the podcast to serve as a source of information.
“Right now, a lot of students are disconnected from the university because of the pandemic, and having a place where they can check in every Tuesday and learn a different functional area of the university can broaden their understanding of who they need to talk to and go for when in need of assistance,” Shaughnessy said.
Avery Howard, SGA vice president and second podcast host, discussed leaving behind a social media footprint for listeners of the podcast.
“We want to help students with personal development. Everything in our podcast is going to follow us, and we want what follows us to be helpful. We want this podcast to help students with lifestyle development. So, watch the podcast because one, I’m funny, and two, you learn things,” Howard said.
He said the name was born because he and Shaughnessy had “tea to spill.”
“We have tea to spill to students, so why not Tuesday Tea Time?” Howard said. “The alliteration was the best part of the idea. The Tuesday aspect gives our audience a day to look forward to, and we are spilling the tea.”
Tuesday Tea Time featured interviews with Eddie Howard, vice president of Student Experience at YSU, and YSU President Jim Tressel. The podcast is relatively new, but Shaughnessy and Howard have already thought of future interviewees and plans to expand the podcast beyond YSU.
“There has been a lot of support for YSU from the Youngstown community,” Howard said. “The Second Harvest Food Bank has been a partner for Student Government by helping with the food pantry, so we’d love to have one of their representatives on the show.”
Tuesday Tea Time has been met with warm remarks. Students, faculty and other members of YSU SGA have complimented Shaughnessy’s and Howard’s efforts in creating a casual, yet informative, podcast. The two expressed the desire to see the podcast continue on and grow.
“The podcast Spotify account was specifically created for Student Government so that it can continue. Maybe we’ll change the bylaws so Avery and I could be president and vice president forever and always host the podcast,” Shaughnessy joked. “But, if that doesn’t work, I’d have no problem handing the mic over to someone else in Student Government.”
Students can tune in and listen to Tuesday Tea Time on Spotify every Tuesday.
