CAMPUS NEWS
N.O.W.
11A
on campus
Megan Prather
@meganthefeline
Contributing Writer
The University of Central Oklahoma’s National Organization for Women held its first meeting of the semester Wednesday, January 20. “We also say it’s UCO’s Organization for Gender Equality because we are welcoming to all genders,” said Dr. Lindsey Churchill, faculty sponsor. While the organization has been around for several years, it was revived in 2013. NOW focuses on a variety of gender related issues spanning anywhere from body image to reproductive justice. The group’s current project of focus is creating an on-campus daycare option for UCO students. “In February there will be a resolu-
tion on the floor in the University of Central Oklahoma Students Association about childcare for the UCO community,” Churchill said. “We want to find viable options for childcare that help our students and improve graduation and retention rates. This is a student-led coalition.” Courtney Mertz, co-president of NOW, said that the goal is to get the movement seen as a need presented by the student body. “When people show up to the vote it makes those voting actually take it seriously,” graduate student and UCOSA member Ben Rose said. UCOSA currently has $460,000 in its “rainy day” fund.
NOW also works with the Women’s Research Center and the BGLTQ+ Students Center which promote engagement with both women’s and gender issues to support interdisciplinary, educational and social programs. NOW has other events planned for the spring semester as well, starting with a film festival titled Women in Film that will be presented by NOW and the UCO Film Society. The first film being shown is a documentary called Harlan County USA which looks at the roles of women in a particular violent workers strike. This event will take place in the Pegasus Theater, January 27 at 7 p.m. The group will also be coordinating
events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in March, including Take Back the Night, which is an event that focuses on sexual assault. “Last year there were so many people lined up to talk about their experience with sexual assault it took over an hour and a half,” Churchill said. NOW meets every other Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. in room 201 of the Nigh University Center and new members are always welcome. “If you are looking for an organization that takes action and can make a difference on campus this is the place to be,” said Churchill.
An attendee to the first NOW meeting of the year examines an informative flyer about gender diversity. Photo by Ryan Naeve, The Vista. Editor’s note: In the February 2016 issue of The Vista, there was a misprint in regards to the reporter for this story. We have made the appropriate changes for this issue above.