Hello All! First, I do realize that this letter is a unique one—no surprise, it comes from my very heart, and I am, undoubtedly, unique. You probably ain’t eveh gonna get another letter like this… unless I send you another one this year, which I am certainly liable to do, because the love is real, y’all. I might even be inclined to send a few more. So here goes. Please read to the end, it’s long I know, but please do me this honor. I humbly, yet boldly, ask to be met (received, acknowledged) by you because I am working very hard for you. I am your student regent; my name is Cachet. My Dear Beloved Fellow Students, Congratulations on getting through the first week of our semester in these unprecedented times! Thank you for opening my email; this letter has been a long time in coming. I wanted to reach out to you over a year ago when I first became your student regent—to introduce myself and to ask you to lead with me, right by my side, and directing my movements, as you all are my very motivation to serve, and I wish to serve you with all that I am, no matter the circumstances of our world. Many of you will have heard of me by now—me with my mama-bearness in my representation of you; my implicit adoration of you; my calling to serve you, Alaska’s students, and through you, serving the entirety of this incredible state. My conviction is off-the-charts strong and has been for a long while—since the days I was a student senator, then student body president, and also president of the student alumni association at UAS in Juneau, Alaska’s beautiful capital city. Student leadership, and leadership in general, comes innately to me, and it is impossible for me to not serve. It is one of the two paramount callings of my life, and I will answer it every day that I am living. Still, some of you have yet to encounter the term regent, let alone to know that your university has a Board of Regents (which is a State board) that governs the administration of our university system, and which is thus wholly responsible for what happens on our campuses, alongside our three chancellors whom are chief among the institutions wherein they are at the helm. In this letter, you will learn more about what the student regent is, and how one gets to serve in this capacity. You will also be called to action to empower your (our) communication and participation in these challenging times, and to empower and advocate for our cumulative vision for our universities, as well. Further, I implore you to care for yourselves to the utmost, and I will do the same. Being a regent at this time is certainly not easy. The demands upon the regents (thus far of my tenure) is anywhere from 6-10 times as much as in any other normal years (if not more). I understand that this pressure is not limited to our board of regents but is indeed spread throughout the entirety of our universities: it is heavy upon our administrators, our faculty, our staff, and our dear students across all our communities. It is for this reason—to engage your activation, your activism, your action, your passion, your empowerment—that I am now (and always, frankly) yours in service. It started, in all fairness, in my childhood (a story I will save for one-on-one conversations with you if you wish to ask me more), and so for the purposes of this letter I shall say it began with my very interesting experience of my first year of graduate school at UAF, which I began in the Fall of 2018: I was all enthusiasm beforehand (for years, in anticipation of my much-desired graduate education), and in short order I found myself having an atrocious experience within my program (another story I will save for our one-on-ones if you wish to know more—I am an open book). And you know what? I am honestly grateful for it—the trials and tribulations, the tremendous lack of support I felt—for it did not defeat me, rather, it showed me who I am and what I am made of. I am unbreakable; I am stronger than I ever knew. And if you have yet to realize this about yourselves, my friends, let me help you. Let me help to shoulder your burdens, so that you can feel truly supported. I am here for you always. I wanted to be your regent so that I could do everything in my power to ensure that no other student would experience the extreme dysfunction that I perceived in my experience of my first year. Please note: I am NOT bashing my university—I quite love my university—that is why I demand that it always strives for excellence in its treatment of our students and that anything short of that is a failure that I, as regent, want to be personally accountable for. The regents are the ones who must account for all that goes on within the University of Alaska system. If something sucks at UA, I will step up to answer for it, and I will call a spade a spade. And if it is a red spade, I will call it the red. spade. that it is, because I am NOT afraid of accountability, and I am not afraid of Truth-capital-T, and I am NOT afraid of engaging tough conversations, nor am I afraid of leadership in challenging times. In fact, I was made for it. So how did I become your student regent? It’s really cool, actually: the student regent is the only regent who must conduct a campaign (on their home campus) to be considered for this position. The students elect this individual to be then submitted to the governor for vetting and for nomination to the position. Like all regents, I am a gubernatorial appointee. Unlike the other regents who serve eight-year terms, the student regent serves for a two-year term. That being said, I am considering putting in for another two years, if you will have me, elections will be held soon. ALSO, if you feel called to this position, check with your student government about your upcoming election and the process, or reach out to me to guide you. May the most qualified students step up! The student regent must pay to be regent, as we are mandated to be full-time students during our tenures. I am happy to continue studying at UA for an extended duration if you wish me to continue in this role. Please know this clearly: I DO NOT EVER speak for, or on behalf of, the regents. Anything I say and do comes from me and only me and is sourced from my strong convictions as a servant-leader. It is the board’s chair who speaks for the board; this position is currently held by Regent Sheri Buretta. The board also empowers the president of the university system with board representation. This position is currently held by a woman named Pat Pitney, who serves us as Interim President. The president is the sole employee of the Board of Regents, working specifically at the behest of the board as a whole, who works to serve the state and it’s needs by providing quality education to you, our students, and thus the president works for you. I expect great things from Ms. Pitney this year, as should you. The pressure upon her is not light, my friends. It is not light upon any of us in this time, as we wholly know. My term as your student regent is from June 1, 2019 through May 31, 2021 and is, of course, subject to legislative confirmation. Due to the unexpectedness of the global pandemic, all of the recent gubernatorial appointees are as yet unconfirmed. I have received word that the legislature will attend to duty to confirm our governors’ appointees as soon as they can during their 2021 Legislative Session. If you wish, you may send your senators and representatives your personal recommendation to confirm me in 2021 as your student regent. In spite of delayed confirmation, all appointees are legally permitted to serve in our appointed positions. I am deeply grateful to Governor Dunleavy for selecting me for this hard work, in light of unprecedented budgetary cuts to the UA system, and for entrusting me to uncover with my fellow regents the best ways forward for our universities in service to our state. From the very start of my tenure I committed myself to always being a strong voice on behalf of the students of the universities we collectively call UA. I will always represent the students’ (your/our) perspectives, wishes, and concerns; and I will always vote in your favor—the way that you would have me vote—UNLESS I stridently feel that I am compromising the fiduciary responsibility entrusted to me, and then I will be accountable before you and will honestly explain to you why I made my decision thus. I will always do my best for you. As with everyone, my best may change with the circumstances of my days: depending on my homework load (I am a student first and foremost!) or my mental/emotional/physical state. Warning, vulnerable share: I value self-care, incredibly so, and I very much value the care-ofyou. I am a massage therapist by trade and a health nut by choice; I work hard to stay on top of my whole health, despite some of my tendencies. I want to vulnerably share with you now that I do face the edginess of mental/emotional turbulence regularly, which is fundamentally rooted in both my ‘expectancy violation’ of the reality I wish to create with the people I come to share space with, as well as in my being an extreme empath, wherein I expect people to just do right and to treat each other, and the living earth, with compassion and without selfish aim or gain. This is what allows me to genuinely and unconditionally love people—even if they are strangers to me, and even if they are unkind or I inherently disagree with them. I am widely known for this lovingness, and I appreciate who I AM because of it. The shadow side of this edginess—an aspect of me which I ultimately consider a welcomed strength—is that sometimes people do not understand me or my intentions, and I have been judged for my directness and abruptness and even called “disrespectful.” I am working on this ardently, how I present myself to the world (just real, I am only just real) and on impression management, though—disclaimer—I have emotional maturity enough to know that I am NOT responsible for how anyone feels, or perceives me, or reacts to me (only oneself is responsible for one's feelings, perceptions and reactions) and I am wise enough to know that what anyone thinks about me is actually none of my business and it does not need to affect me, neither positively nor negatively. I am a longtime student of yoga, and of tantra (which is NOT about sex, people; this is a misguided belief many people have but it is not without reason). Both yoga and tantra are exercises in authenticity, integrity, and perseverance, rooted in deep self-care. When one is practicing these, you can see how one’s life (in all aspects) could thrive. I always know when I fall short of this, and that is on me to reconcile within my own self, and to make amends where necessary. It is for this reason that I offer apology ONLY where it is truly warranted. If I accidently bump into you, for example, it is not a situation that actually warrants my “being sorry,” it warrants instead a smile and a hello—my acknowledgement of your presence. If I hurt you, or hurt myself in my treatment of you, a sincere apology is absolutely necessary. Now if you did something that results in your perception that I hurt you, but I actually did nothing directly to you, then you must grow to recognize Truth—capital T. This self-reflection and introspection are the makings of great people, and of great leaders. I only strive to lead by example. And as I serve you, my fellow students, if ever I do something that you find is a poor example of what you wish to see in your student regent—you damn sure better call me on it! Hold me to account, I tell you! I hold myself thus. Most people say they are sorry far too often, which renders their necessary apologies less meaningful, in my opinion. I invite you to witness for yourselves how often you are apologizing for things that do not need to be apologized for. Instead, simply say, “excuse me for bumping you, I did not intend to,” and engage your beautiful smile. How does that feel to you, hearing me say this? I do not wish to ever be gruff with or inhospitable to anyone, I wish to be gracious with everyone, and yet I find I must voraciously repeat: I am not afraid of directness or of facing, head-on, seemingly insurmountable issues that bring us to our knees, and I am not afraid of metaphorical bullets and gut-wrenching ridicule. I am not afraid of disagreement, and I eagerly stand firm for what I believe in. In this case, I believe in you. All of you. And I believe in our universities, and in our beautiful state constitution, wherein we hold a special place sealed into perpetuity. Do you know how critical our universities are?! We are the very representatives of something that is meant to be golden. If it appears as coal to you, apply your inner alchemy, you beautiful magician, you beautiful miracle-worker. Do you know your power? You are an incredibly powerful creator. You are co-creating your reality daily with life, and life conspires to give you all that your heart desires. All you must do is ask, believe, and receive. Stand in this power, let nothing knock you from this space. Do you pray? Prayer is a powerful manifestation tool, and a powerful tool to use to feel better as prayer is, indeed, a medicine. It is at this point which I must express the urgency of ceasing ANY negative talk around our beloved university system. Instead, engage your tools, engage the power of prayer, and lift up our universities and their leaders, please; the UA system needs loving and tender care right now, as do we all. Honest acknowledgement of any loci of dysfunction in our system is not being negative; it is simply calling spades what they are and demanding change for the better, and for the better, and for the better. The old paradigms are coming crashing down and we are living in an amazing time of change. When I share with you what I experienced in my first year at UAF, I am simply acknowledging my Truth, that which I lived through, and the depths of the despair. I am not ashamed to communicate with you that I suffered and that it made me stronger. COMMUNICATION IS EVERYTHING, and it is an art and a skill that takes continued and fervent commitment; honest communication can bring great healing. I am certain that what I went through was a matter of others simply not understanding my implicit uniqueness, my specific needs, or the reality of my fierce independence, all stemming from 20 years of solo globe-trotting adventures, one major life-changing pilgrimage (have you heard of the Camino de Santiago?!), and from being my own boss for the past ten years. These qualities that I worked so hard on were mistaken and mislabeled as “entitlement.” We are all entitled to feel safe and supported in our environments, my friends. Remember this that I tell you. And more importantly, I honor that my experience of that time in graduate school played a critical role leading to my tremendous self-development. I can, with this mentality, be truly grateful for how hard it was to endure that first year, and for my ability to persist in spite of all odds. Whereas I began my graduate career as a Teaching Assistant impacting the lives of the 19 students I was fortunate to teach, I evolved into being (once again) a student senator in the student governance of my university and representing many thousands of students, from where I evolved into becoming your student regent, the highest position of student leadership in Alaska, representing well over 20,000 students, and at a most critical time. While I strive for excellence in communication, excellence in service, and excellence in leadership, I am only human and I ask for your patience, leniency, and support as I continue my mission to serve and to become my very best self in service to my state. I love Alaska with all of my heart, and I wish to inspire this passion within you, too. It is for this reason that I now fully invigorate and charge forward with the power invested in me that WE THE STUDENTS continue to communicate with each other wholeheartedly and with intensified frequency. Please continue your communication with me over this next year. If you have yet to email me your concerns, I invite you to do so directly. You may absolutely be blunt with me and you may curse if you feel the need to, I will not take offense. I only ask you for your honesty in what your experience has been and in what you want to see happen, not only for the future of our universities, but for the future of our lives. You may call me anytime, as well. And so that leads me to my call-to-action of you all, one I wish I had sent to you as my introduction in May of 2019: I BOLDLY charge you all to connect with me, and I charge you all with the great task of self-care, not only in this year (in this very critical year in the history of our universities), but always. And with this I must humbly, vulnerably, and bravely request of you all, please dear ones, NO MORE SUICIDING. Suicide Prevention Week is next week, September 6-12. If you feel you are at risk in this vulnerable area, please reach out for help. As bad as things do get sometimes, admittedly, the cup does pass. A new day does come, and you do belong here. How can I help you feel more of a sense of place and belonging? What can I do to support you more? I recognize that it is unorthodox for a regent to speak thus, but I am no status-quo individual and I could not be if I tried. What I AM is your servant-leader working my butt off to represent you, to serve you, to empower you and to embolden your very precious lives. And it is with this strong conviction that I demand, with tears of concern in my eyes even, that you do not commit self-harm upon your bodies, your hearts, or your minds, and that you INSTEAD acknowledge and honor the deep Truths within you, your feelings, your wants, your desires, your sufferings, and that you hold them in a space of love. Hold yourselves and each other in a space of love. I hold you always in this space of love, and I implore you with all that I am, to take care of yourselves, and each other. Say hello to your classmates, make the effort to know and to use their names and to look into one another’s eyes. You never know when these simple actions will lift someone’s spirit that day, or even save their lives. And speaking of saving lives, WE MUST, WE ABSOLUTELY MUST, regardless (or irregardless, if you prefer, haha) of our independent feelings regarding this pandemic and its impacts on us physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, etc. WE SIMPLY MUST follow our universities precautions and the rules that are in place. This IS temporary, and we ARE a resilient people. Until this pandemic does pass, this is how we can show our love and support not only of others, but our love and respect for ourselves. Do it. We really don’t have a choice. I also do not enjoy keeping distance from folks (I am a hugger and I kiss people on their cheeks), and who really enjoys wearing a mask when out and staying home more than ever? We just have to do what we have to do, and this community-mindedness is what will help Alaska be the best it could ever be: when we care for another. We must tirelessly strive to lift people up so they do not feel lost and alone. Finally, I ask you to engage new levels of participation with the goings-on of our universities collectively—we are a system after all. You can do this by engaging conversation with faculty and staff, in particular the staff and leadership of Student Services, with your student governance, with your legislators, and with me. You can participate as a witness and testifier to the Board of Regents by attending our public committee meetings and full-board meetings, discussing them with your peers, and by showing up to let your voice be heard at Public Testimony. The Regents website is https://www.alaska.edu/bor/ and from there you can track our meeting schedules, minutes, agendas, public testimony sessions, and more. All of our contact information is listed for you to write or call us at any time. Public testimony provides an opportunity for direct public input in advance of the board’s next committee meetings which will be held September 3-4, and the full board meeting, which will be held on September 10-11. These meetings will be streamed at www.alaska.edu/bor/live and I encourage you all to tune in whenever you can. You may provide your written testimony anytime by emailing uabor@alaska.edu, though in my opinion emailing the regents at our individual email addresses is most effective. Written testimony sent to our group address is shared with the Board of Regents and Interim President Pat Pitney and comes in the form of a large PDF, sometimes as many as 20 pages long. The next opportunity for public testimony is TONIGHT August 31, 2020, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. and you must be willing to call in early and wait (sometimes up to 45 minutes, I’ve heard) to be recognized to speak. If you call later than 4:00ish you risk not getting into queue. Call 1-866-831-8713 to join the queue for testimony. Public testimony session will be live streamed at: www.alaska.edu/bor/live/. Please do not be nervous, do speak loud and clear; we’re all in this together, and your voices and your opinions matter. Agendas are posted at https://www.alaska.edu/bor/agendas/ and the upcoming meetings are: Thursday, September 3 – via Zoom Academic and Student Affairs Committee - 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (I am on this committee) Facilities and Land Management Committee - 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Friday, September 4 - Zoom Audit Committee - 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon Thursday and Friday, September 10-11 – FULL BOARD MEETING via Zoom Thursday, September 10, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday, September 11, 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Lastly, for levity, does anyone else miss going out dancing like I do? Blast this song I love by Citizen Cope and dance around your living rooms (and know that I’m doing it, too!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMy8lKG6Atc “Bullet and a Target,” my Song of the Day Send me your favorites so I can add them to my dance list. Woo hoo! Move your bodies, it is crucially important. Find a way to move every day. It will keep your spirits high. I very much look forward to hearing from you! And if you send me six, or seven, pages worth like I did to you, well, fair is fair! Yours in service, always, and know that I love you—even if you think that that is nuts, or impossible, or whatever, you ought to know by now that my Truth is my Truth and I speak it boldly, and I want the very same for you, Cachet Garrett, Student Regent Email: regent.garrett@gmail.com Landline: 907-455-3999 Cellular: 628-888-9907 Mailing Address: p.s. If you are no longer a student and wish to be removed from this UA listserve please email your request to Morgan Dufseth, Executive Officer, System Governance mdufseth@alaska.edu. Thank you! p.p.s. The pictures attached are: me with my sweet dog, Kai’aka, on a pre-pandemic flight. She is pure joy in the form of a forever-puppy and I hope you all get to meet her, and me! She is a certified emotional support animal who is a major part of my own self-care. Bless our animal companions! The next pictures are of Kai’aka and me in my hometown of Palmer at the incredible Matanuska Greenbelt. Go see it and hike around, it’s gorgeous! And finally, mask-wearing me at UAF with a life-size photo of our beloved Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Keith Champagne.