In celebration of International Women’s Day, several campus organizations came together to host two hours of crafts, discussion and sharing resources.
On March 6, the Office of Strategic Initiatives in collaboration with MOSAIC, VMA, VAPA, Green Action Fund, Feminist Club and several female professors hosted its first International Women’s Day Advocacy Fair. Berger Hall was set up with 13 organization tables, a pizza and drink table and seating for attendees to enjoy snacks.
According to Leya Schnitter, program manager for the Office of Strategic Initiatives, nearly 200 students, staff and faculty came to the fair. “Most of the pizza was gone, [and] I think that alone was a huge success,” she said. “Every person left with a smile on their face, left with something in their hands.”
Schnitter was responsible for coordinating the space and food for the event, though setting up the whole advocacy fair was collaborative. In the past, there has been a desire for a communal Women’s History Month event, but this was the first year that a large event in a single space became a reality.
“Last year, a whole group of people got together, but it was just so many ideas that all happened at the same time that they all split off into different things,” Schnitter said. Ideas for the fair came from a group of 10 students, staff and faculty.
The 13 tables at the International Women’s Day Advocacy Fair offered a host of educational materials and resources for activism.
Advocacy Resources with Social Work
In addition to self-care kits, social work presented an assortment of resources for advocacy. From small ways like ethical shopping to protests that cause government action, students could get to know the many ways they can be activists in their community.
Arlene Bjugstad, assistant professor of social work, stressed the importance of protest in times when it is discouraged. “Advocacy doesn’t always have to be going out to a march or rally,” she said. “Although those are great ways to advocate, there are really easy, tangible ways to engage in advocacy from your couch and make your voice heard.”
Bjugstad explained why protests are particularly pertinent for women, saying “the rights we have and the opportunities we have are only made available because of our protests.”
Patch-Making with the Kraemer Family Library
Librarians and students hosted a button and patch-making station. Attendees could pick from various cut-out advocacy messages to create a button, such as feminist symbols or phrases about activism. Students could also design a patch with paint pens and fabric markers.
Songwriting with VAPA
Music students offered their songwriting services to attendees. Participants could give the musicians prompts or words to craft songs around, and the five music students were ready to create with their notebooks and guitars. They also had fliers and posters about the history of protest music, like “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday and “Just a Girl” written by Gwen Stefani.
“[Protest music] is a great way to spread both information and the emotion around it,” said sophomore Paige Stewart. Sophomore Lexi Thompson described protest music as “cathartic” and emphasized music’s ability “to share information through art.”
“There’s speeches, there’s marches, but not everyone can be in attendance. If you’re hearing a song recorded speaking a message, that’s sharing it with everyone,” Thompson said.
Self-Care with Social Work
Social work offered attendees DIY self-care goodie bags. Guests could take snacks, small coloring books with colored pencils and calming teas home. Attendees were offered cards with encouraging messages to add to their self-care kit.
Storytelling with WEST and VAPA
Assistant professor in WEST ‘Ilaheva Tua’one led an anticapitalistic space for storytelling and bartering. Attendees could sit down and write a story on a typewriter with the prompt, “Share a story of a time someone stood up or stood out.” In exchange for leaving a story, participants could take home a small piece of local art, “a true barter,” Tua’one said.
“Storytelling is one of the undervalued ways of passing on knowledge,” Tua’one said. “As we know, knowledge can just be erased from a website like that. It’s useless to try to put everything into digital content when digital content can just be wiped out, so oral storytelling is one of those ways to make sure that we keep our knowledge flowing.”
Resources for Women-Identifying Veterans with VMA
Amy Demenge, women veterans service officer at the Colorado State Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, joined VMA success coordinator Jonelia Henselman to spread the word on resources available to female veterans.
“Women veterans are the fastest growing population in the [veteran] community,” Demenge said. “[This] is a very trying time in our world. I’m here, and we need to band together as sisters.”
Grants with Green Action Fund
Green Action Fund Chair Bailey Parenteau presented ways to apply for funding for sustainable projects. They stressed there is abundant “intersectionality between social justice and sustainability.” Parenteau noted that the environment impacts all of us and all spaces of social justice.
“I don’t think a lot of people necessarily realize how sustainability and feminism, or just women in general, are connected,” Parenteau said. “A lot of times, those initiatives that are polluting the planet impact marginalized groups … When it comes to social justice, you have to have that intersection, that community and solidarity, or else change can’t happen.”
Online Advocacy with Philosophy
Associate professor of philosophy Jennifer Kling hosted a wiki-thon for online advocacy. Her table was set with five computers, where attendees could quickly sign Change.org petitions or write a letter to their congressional representatives through ResistBot. Kling also offered handouts with ways to engage in online activism.
“Online advocacy, because it is not controlled by traditional mechanisms of power, provides way more opportunities for women to raise their voice,” Kling said. “The beauty of the internet is they can’t make us all shut up … It truly is equal opportunity advocacy.”
Letter Writing with MOSAIC
MOSAIC’s table gave attendees a space to write letters to women in their lives. An assortment of blank cards adorned with artwork were set out, allowing guests to say “Thank you” to a strong woman in their lives.
Women-Owned Businesses and Entrepreneurs with the Garage
Ariana Pasquini, event and marketing coordinator at EPIIC, presented information on the prevalence of female entrepreneurs. Women are behind several renowned inventions, such as Kevlar, wrinkle-free cotton and the Red Cross.
Pasquini says there is a lack of acknowledgement for female entrepreneurs in media. “It’s hard to see yourself in a position where you don’t see people like you, so how can you become an innovator or entrepreneur if when you look at it, all you’re seeing are men?” she said.
Mending Circle with Bachelors in Innovation
B.I. program instructor Carolyn Gery’s table featured assorted ribbons, matchbook sewing kits and crocheted flowers for attendees to take home. Gery’s mending circle is a way to “take on “the metaphor of the art of repair.” Crocheting is a way to fix things, and a mending space offered attendees an area to celebrate each other and connect, according to Gery.
Advocacy resources with social work booth at the International Woman’s Day fair. Photo by Josiah Dolan.