Louisburg College Department of Housing and Residence Life is a featured program.
Louisburg College is committed to providing valuable programming to all students on our campus. While we may be a predominately male institution it is one of our greatest priorities to provide engaging and meaningful large scale programs for the women on our campus who attend Louisburg College. We understand that college aged men and women have very different needs and one of the ways that we go about addressing the needs of our women, is to provide large scale “women’s only” programs once a semester.
Girl On Fire [First All Women’s Program]
The first all women’s program that we hosted on our campus was entitled “Girl On Fire”. This program was reactive, in a response to an increase of women fighting other women on campus. The program incorporated a series of team building activities.
The first activity was entitled “Cross the Line” where statements were read aloud and if it applied to you, then you stepped forward. Statements included things such as “I have been hurt by someone in this room”, “I have gossiped about someone in this room”, and “I consider myself to be a confident woman”. The purpose of this activity was to get each woman to realize that other women on our campus have been through similar experiences as they have and that each and every woman is a unique and valuable individual.
The second activity was entitled “Touch Someone Who” where everyone was blindfolded and a small handful of women were asked to listen to a statement and tap individuals in the circle who the statement applied to. Statements included things such as “Touch someone who has been a friend to you”, “Touch someone who has enriched your experience at Louisburg College”, and “Touch someone who you would ask to be a bridesmaid at your wedding”. Every woman in attendance was given the opportunity to be both blindfolded, as well as tap others in the circle. The purpose of this activity was to allow the women to recognize one another anonymously, ideally boosting the self esteem, self worth, and self confidence of every woman in the circle!
Finally, we had each woman fill out a “Burn Sheet”. The women were instructed to write down their issues with other women on campus and the negative experiences that they had had since arriving at Louisburg College. We all went outside together and one by one burned each and every sheet! This activity was very symbolic to the women in attendance.
This program was very beneficial in addressing many of the issues that we were experiencing on our campus. Following this program, the number of fights on campus between women dramatically decreased. Overall, the camaraderie in the female residence hall communities bettered.
I’m A Grown Woman [Second All Women’s Program]
The second all women’s program that we hosted on Louisburg College’s campus was entitled “I’m A Grown Woman”. This program was proactive, for the purpose of educating our women about conflict management, self worth, women in the media, and life after Louisburg. This program was a combination of rotating through discussion circles and a culminating fashion show that demonstrated “what to wear” and “what not to wear” to class, an interview, work, a professional meeting, etc.
The discussion circles proved to be a very good format for conversation. Each of the individual facilitators [faculty and staff] developed talking points and questions that helped keep conversation flowing. The women in attendance were very willing to share and open up in a group of 12-15 of their peers. These discussions lasted 15-20 minutes before the women rotated to another circle, delving into a discussion about the next topic that interested them. The purpose of this activity was to engage our women in conversations and get them to think about these topics through a different lens.
After three rotations through the discussion circles, we switched gears into a fashion show! We had a number of student, faculty, and staff volunteers who modeled both appropriate and inappropriate dress attire for a number of different social and professional situations. We had multiple models showcasing “class attire”, “interview attire”, “meeting attire”, and even “club attire”. The MC made sure to point out what about each outfit was or was not appropriate and why. The purpose of the fashion show was to provide the women with examples of what they should and should not wear.
The fashion show was a lot of fun! The women were very receptive and even took it to the next level to ask questions about outfits that they thought were appropriate that the MC had identified as being too low cut, too short, or simply not appropriate.
Finally, we had each woman in attendance take a pledge to “Be A Grown Woman”. We identified a number of different challenges for them to complete, such as standing up for them selves, starting a conversation about the use and misuse of social media with their friends, and choosing to wear appropriate attire. As the women completed each of these challenges, they were asked to talk to their Community Director, who then presented them with an “I’m A Grown Woman” button!
This program was very positive and had a valuable impact on the women on our campus. While some women continued to choose to wear inappropriate attire, there were numerous occasions where staff noticed that women who had attended the program chose to dress professionally to RA interviews, work study shifts, and conduct hearings.
Reflection
We continue to have women on campus refer back to the different all women’s programs that we have hosted. It never fails, that every time that we put up new fliers that remind our students of “Girl On Fire” or “I’m A Grown Woman” the buzz starts to make its way around campus. The women are always curious what the next large scale all women’s program is going to be and they can’t wait to line up outside of the Multi Purpose Room, to make sure they are one of the first to get in!
Submitted by Nicolette Stanfill, Community Director Louisburg College