Students with a taste for feminism can attend the first women’s interest-group meeting today at 6 p.m. in Room 201 of the Busch Memorial Center.
Senior Laura Hobart organized the meeting as the capstone for her women’s studies certificate. She said the meeting is a milestone for the Saint Louis University community. “There is not a student women’s interest group at SLU, though there has been a group for faculty and staff since the 1970s.”
According to Hobart, the group’s intention is to educate SLU’s students about women’s issues and to create a resource for those interested in women’s issues.In her last year at SLU, Hobart realized there was a need for this type of organization. “This promises to be more fun and independent than the women’s studies program.”
Katherine Kuhn, co-director of the women’s studies department, has worked with Hobart on the project. “The important thing about this group is that it really is trying to accommodate the whole person, not only academic needs but also spiritual needs, physical needs.”
Hobart said the group plans to integrate three parts: mind, body and spirit. The mind could be looked at through such things as talks on leadership and discussion on popular books. For the body, the group might hotly-debate topics in feminism like abortion or something less controversial, such as health seminars. The spiritual aspect of the organization will coordinate with theology and campus ministry but also integrate other ideas, even atheism, Hobart suggests.
Hobart stressed that this will be an open group. “We want to see men at the meeting,” she said. “This is not a [male-bashing] group, but simply education about feminism. We’re not into hairy legs or that sort of thing.”
“What’s unique about this group is that it will be organized in a circular way, with no president or other officers,” Hobart said, referring to an idea from feminist author Sally Helgeson. “We’ll have each member of the group in charge of organizing a meeting or discussion. However, there will be a facilitator/moderator to go to the HOG meetings.”
Hobart wants the group to become a resource to other groups at SLU. “There are no groups currently dedicated to the interest of feminism for students, but several for faculty,” she said. “There are all these things dedicated to women’s issues but aren’t made known to students.”
Hobart, is the former vice president for Students Activity Board and knows the steps to beginning a student organization. She is currently researching to see if the group will need to be chartered, since there was a women’s club a few years ago.
“I would like to see this chartered, although the club would require no funding because of all the resources that are available at SLU,” she said.
Hobart said it would be wonderful if students could gather ideas from the women’s interest group.
Sororities on campus could find links to the group, according to Hobart. “I want to see sororities get more educated about women’s studies,” she said. “They do a lot with self-defense, but there are so many more things that a group which is entirely dedicated to women could do. In that area, the organizations could work together.
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The group will have resources and information available to people on topics that are important to everyone, said Kuhn. “It is not a group confined only to women but for people who are interested in equality and equal access.”
Hobart is planning on attending to medical school in the fall in Kansas City. “I want to find someone dedicated to the cause and leave the group to them for next year,” she said.
