Advocacy

In an old gym with wooden bleachers, a high school girls varsity basketball team plays their heart out in a game against a longtime rival. The bleachers are half empty, but the fans and parents fill the echoing room with enough enthusiastic cries that the space feels full. This game is important to the girls in a way that only athletes can understand.

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” is often repeated advice, (Cross and Thomas). In college, the pressures to begin building a strong network for academic, professional, and personal development start early.

“No means no,” is the slogan many people throw out first when they’re talking about consent. This is supposed to mean that when a person says no to sex, you listen to them. It’s a decent motto for consent, as mottos go, but is it enough?

The Women’s Center invited Carlos Andrés Gómez, award-winning poet, actor and author of Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood, to speak about his own path through socialized masculinity, and how he learned to create a new path for himself.

If you’re on any sort of social media, you’ve likely seen the hashtag #MeToo posted by someone you know. The number of people who have posted, tagged, and tweeted the phrase has been staggering, and with this comes the shocking realization that so many people face harassment and assault.

As a society, we love to follow the trail of a murder case or missing persons case with close attention as the media sensationalizes the events (some more than others). However, when such a horrific mystery happens so close to home, the feelings change.

I’m not one to hide the fact that I’m on my period. “Feminine hygiene products,” in all their shrouded mystery, are really just a necessity. This isn’t always the mode of thinking. The start of menstruation is classically hailed as the day a girl becomes a woman; it is also the day she starts to hide this womanhood. From the moment we are labeled women, we learn that the supposed “essence” of womanhood is a taboo for everyday conversation. We discreetly slip tampons or pads into shoes, waistbands, or sleeves before heading to the bathroom during class.

Do you know that feeling when someone starts talking, and you can immediately tell that they’re brilliant, and you’re instantly captivated? This feeling doesn’t happen very often, but it’s a wonderful surprise every time it does.

I’ll admit it: I bought a comfort colors Bicentennial shirt. I took one of those free clear bags with the "200" logo emblazoned on the side. I like the idea of being a part of something that’s been around for so long, in a place of education and discovery, with peers who are as interested in knowledge as I am. It’s easy to buy into the huge celebrations UVA is hosting. The Bicentennial launch ceremony was obviously a success, with the huge turnout, and the long, impressive set list that performed that night.