The Women’s Center celebrated a new era, with the event theme surrounding the twenties with their fourth annual Galentine’s Day event, inspiring the name from Parks and Recreation, the popular sitcom.
The event invited other clubs and organizations around campus, primarily consisting of women members to help celebrate the relationship between women.
The Psychology Club, Active Minds, Healthy Outreach through Peer Education (H.O.P.E.), Reflections and Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) all had tables with information and activities. Students in attendance could make self-affirmation mirrors, Valentines and buttons, try mocktails, make a masquerade mask, enjoy a photo booth and create their own heart cosokies.
Erin O’Connor, the graduate assistant for the Women’s Center and Pride, said that Galentine’s Day is all about celebrating women’s friendship and empowerment.
“A lot of times, we can get wrapped up in Valentine’s Day where we are focusing on stereotypical relationships between a man and a woman, but not that we have so many other meaningful relationships in our lives,” O’Connor said.
Galentine’s Day allows students the opportunity to recognize the importance of having women’s friendships and to thank your female friends for everything they have done.
Similar to the Women’s Center advocating and empowering women, H.O.P.E. was present to remind students and women that they have a lot of potential and strengths that could be found.
Selby Gluth a H.O.P.E. Peer Mentor and sophomore public health major and gerontology minor believes that women’s empowerment is important to bond women together.
“Women need to know that they are strong and that they are able to hold higher positions such like men,” Gluth said.
Much like H.O.P.E. the Psychology Club believes it’s important for women to stand together and support one another. The club discusses topics of women’s psychology is some of its meetings.
Carly Aprea, a freshman psychology major and member of FMLA reiterated the fact that relationships on Valentine’s Day don’t need to be with a specific partner, they could be with friends too.
“When women stick together, we can have a great influence on society,” Aprea said.
Following the empowerment theme of Galentine’s Day, O’Connor the graduate assistant for the Women’s Center and Pride Center wants to take any opportunity to put a focus on women’s empowerment.
“More and more we are seeing the necessity for [women’s empowerment] because there aren’t a ton of platforms in our society where women get to feel empowered,” O’Connor said.
Joining H.O.P.E, FMLA and the Psychology Club were two newer clubs on campus; Active Minds and Reflections.
Reflections works closely with different organizations that focus on women’s issues and joined the Galentine’s Day event to connect women.
“Any event that can show you can feel empowered and proud in what you’re doing, we’re going to do,” O’Connor said.
