Scraps of paper being cut and glue sticks moving across pages are the only noise heard in the room. This quiet atmosphere is home to the Creative Minds Club at ASU.
The organization's mission is to promote and support mindfulness by providing students with a creative outlet to relax, connect with others and express themselves. They do this through hands-on artistic activities and collaborative workshops, according to its Sun Devil Central page.
Club president, Lauren Burns, a junior studying management, said mindfulness helps students manage mental health and deal with daily stress.
READ MORE: Opinion: Wellness is a journey students should enjoy
Lauren Burns wanted a club to destress and relax, but found that no existing University club fully fit that vision.
"I just wanted a fun space to just unwind," she said. "I was thinking about that in class one day, and I was like, 'Why don't I just make one?' and my friends and I started making it."
Lauren Burns approached her twin brother, Clay Burns, a junior studying film and media production, about starting the club together.
They brought their friend groups together to figure out what they wanted to do and what they felt was missing from existing ASU clubs.
"What is one club that, regardless of your major, is beneficial on the whole and just a really calming, fun experience?" he said. "That's really where this club idea started. We both just put a list together of what are fun, not super skill-requiring hobbies that everyone can just get into."
READ MORE: Students share why they make time for hobbies
Growing up in Canada, the twins were inspired by American pop culture relating to the college lifestyle. Lauren Burns said her freshman year experience was not what she had seen in the movies she watched before becoming a college student.
Because many of ASU's clubs are rooted in specific majors, the siblings wanted to make this club accessible regardless of students' enrollment.
"It seems almost that if you're not joining the specific club, like whatever club it may be in your freshman year, and growing from there, you're almost ostracized from joining that community," Clay Burns said. "Just having the ability to turn that on its head and really just create that space was just so great for us."
For many students, it can be hard to carve out time for themselves with the constant stress of University life.
Vice President Salma Muraweh, a senior studying management, said in her alone time, she wants to do productive or fun activities outside of her work, but often finds herself doomscrolling instead.
"(The club) is really just a space where we can relax from everything," Muraweh said. "I know that school gets stressful sometimes when you're planning all this stuff and studying for exams and trying to apply to internships and scholarships."
READ MORE: Expert promotes work-life integration over work-life balance for students
The club hopes to encourage this positive de-stressing technique via fun activities like scrapbooking, cookie decorating and vision boards.
While the club offers creative activities, participation is not mandatory; many come in just to socialize.
"The Creative Minds Club doesn't require anything from you; you get to make it your own," Muraweh said. "We have no rules or deadlines or anything that you need to turn it in at the end of the club meeting. You can just come in (and) socialize."
Regardless of whether a student is extroverted or introverted, the Creative Minds Club prides itself on being a welcoming and supportive environment for all.
"We're always welcoming to any major, any year," Clay Burns said. "Pushing the narrative that there's no skill required to this club."
The organization's next event will be cookie decorating and crafting as a Valentine's Day workshop on Feb. 13, hosted in the Memorial Union.
Edited by Natalia Rodriguez, Henry Smardo and Ellis Preston.
Reach the reporter at galawre3@asu.edu.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Grace Lawrence is a reporter for the community culture desk at The State Press. This is her second semester working with The State Press.
