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Show 6 MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 2015 WOMEN continued from front The only thing required is that the art comes into the Women’s Center ready to be hung and displayed. Changes for the center this year will be focused on three initiatives, McClure said. The Safe at Weber program is a new education initiative to prevent campus crime. It can be found on students’ eWeber account. Starting this year, universities that receive federal funding are required WSUSIGNPOST.COM THE SIGNPOST to provide a prevention program for students, McClure said. The Women’s Center has been given the task of doing that work at Weber State. The new program starts with an online training session called Haven, which the university has purchased. According to McClure, it takes about 45 to 60 minutes to complete the initial session, with a 15 minute follow-up session. “That’s the base of the program, and we’re trying to get students to want to be engaged with it,” she said. The center has set up incentives for those who finish Haven training by August 31. Students can win an iPad Air 2 if they finish in time. The new peer education program allows students to go through training this semester, and by the time spring semester starts, those who have finished the training will start doing workshops on campus. “We’ll be specifically working on bystander intervention,” McClure said. The idea behind bystander intervention is to build confidence for students to act when they see dangerous situations. Along with those projects, McClure wants to continue working on women’s leadership and empowerment. “The Women’s Center has historically done a lot with women’s leadership and empowerment, but we’ll continue to do that,” she said. She aims to collaborate with other groups on campus, as well as the Ogden community to work on this initiative. According to McClure, the biggest push from the Women’s Center will be on social justice. “We’re not just focusing on women’s issues by themselves because we know that there is no single issue,” she said. “You can’t separate various identities, so we’ll look at all of the intersections of identity and how that influences different issues.” Not only does the Women’s Center have many projects in mind, but it’s a place where students can go to feel comfortable. “One of my favorite things about the Women’s Center is that it’s my happy place on campus,” Beth Greenhalgh, the violence prevention lead coordinator, said. “The bulk of people who work here are students, so the hurdles I’m having to jump over, they’ve also jumped over.” The center can be used to meet new people, or to receive advisement on different subjects like FAFSA or class decisions. “A lot of students tell us that they’re grateful for assistance from the Women’s Center because we’re there when they need additional help,” Greenhalgh added. “We don’t give them a resource and send them on their way—we walk them through it.” Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com Kick the homesick bug KELLIE PLUMHOF @kellieplumhof columnist Homesickness. It’s sort of a taboo conversation to READ have when THIS IN you’re an adult. No SPANISH one wants wsusignpost.com to admit that they might be missing home, parents, friends or even pets. They may feel vulnerable or even embarrassed by their emotions. It’s common to think that you’re the only one feeling this way, especially when everyone is reluctant to open up. Despite the happy faces that your roommates and classmates may be putting on, they may, in fact, be going through the same thing. I remember the first time I felt truly homesick. It was at the end of my first day of classes. The newness of my apartment had worn off and the realization that I was now going to be living away from home had set in. These feelings took me by surprise because, as a kid, I was never homesick. I ran off to summer camps, friends’ houses and church trips with nothing more than a smile and wave to my parents—if that. It wasn’t that my parents and I weren’t close. In fact, to this day, we are very close. I just felt confident and comfortable when I left for these trips. I suppose this is why I felt so shocked when I experienced actual homesickness for the first time. I had just finished my last class of the first day of school. I walked into the bathroom and allowed myself to cry. I couldn’t believe how suddenly all the emotions had come. Why did I feel so bad? It wasn’t like I was thousands of miles away. It’s a measly 300 miles from St. George to Ogden. I knew I could pick up the phone anytime and talk to my parents, or even Facetime them. Still, the sinking feeling in my chest didn’t leave, and I went home feeling sick to my stomach. The homesick feelings PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MICHELLE NELSON | THE SIGNPOST not only made me miss St. George but placed doubts in my mind. Was coming here a good decision? Would I ever like it here? What would happen if I went back? Those thoughts drove me insane. I was stuck questioning every decision I ever made. My parents and friends back home gave me advice, support and encouragement, but nothing changed until I decided I was done being sad. I got out of my funk by getting involved. It may sound silly, repetitive or even like something that your mom might tell you, but it’s true. I looked into clubs and organizations at school, scoured online for a job, took drives to help familiarize myself with the area and attended church meetings. I didn’t turn down any offers from roommates or classmates to go out and do things, even when I didn’t feel like doing much besides sleeping. Everything didn’t magically change just because I stepped out of my apartment, but soon, the doom and gloom that surrounded my thoughts began to clear away. I became involved in different clubs and organizations on campus. I began to make friends with my roommates and classmates. I found a job that I liked and enjoyed going to. Before I knew it, a day or two would go by before I remembered to phone home. Don’t be embarrassed that you’re feeling homesick. Own up to those feelings so that you can do everything in your power to work through them. Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com |