Page 4 | October 4, 2012

Half the Sky motivates student advocates for change

I am passionate about women empowerment, said Rivera. I feel that this is an issue that either hits you or doesnt; it hit me. A photo campaign was conducted to promote Half the Sky in which students, faculty, and staff showed their support by holding a sign which stated Women hold up Half the Sky. The phrase was derived from an ancient Chinese Proverb which stated that nothing could be possible without women. Many Wesleyan sports teams are helping to bring change to women worldwide. Mens and womens soccer, baseball, lacrosse and basketball are all taking the time to put in effort to make womens rights known throughout the Wesleyan community. Rory Finnegan, a member of the Mens Lacrosse team, gave his take on the teams reaction to the documentary. It was a real eye-opening experience, and I had no idea that type of stuff went on, said Finnegan. Sitting at the table, my teammates and I were in disbeliefit was heart wrenching. By bringing this movement to Wesleyan, many students and faculty have one goal: make oppression obsolete. I hope people that watch the movie will want to read the book, said Rivera. I want people to question more, because not many question what is pushed under the rug. Half the Sky is an edifying, inspiring documentary which tells the story of women who are victims of: sextrafficking, rape, abuse, genital mutilation, and lack of education. The education of these women can change the world because these girls represent untapped opportunity. In many of these cultures rape is unacceptable, yet it is forgivable. In these countries, it is common for a young girl to no longer be accepted by society after she has been raped. This decreases her chances of gaining an education and contributing to society. It is a tragedy that women are living their lives in fear, but education is the solution and provides young girls and their community the option to look forward in anticipation of the future. Not only is this movement supported throughout the Wesleyan campus, it is being recognized worldwide. Panhellenic sororities all over the nation have adopted this as their national philanthropy. Many celebrities like Eva Mendes, Meg Ryan and Gabrielle Union traveled to these countries to hear of these young girls experiences. They are now making it a part of their personal goals to educate America. These celebrities, along with many college students, worked together to get #HalftheSky trending on Twitter during the documentary. I liked that they brought privileged people, celebrities, out of their comfort zone to drive the message home, said freshman Maria Marinelli. It made it all the more powerful. The screening has impacted VWC students and has motivated them to spread the word throughout the community. It has become a cause many feel the need to share because as the public becomes more educated, the horrible and disturbing things like sex trafficking and rape can be put to an end, and young girls life can ultimately be saved. Recently I began reading Half the Sky, but watching the documentary put things into a different perspective, said senior Casey Simmons. It allowed me to see how strong the women who endured the hardships I have been reading about really are. To get involved, Circle of Sisterhood T-shirts will be sold for $15 dollars, $5 of which will benefit the foundation. Students can also learn more about Circle of Sisterhood and the Half the Sky Movement by visiting www. circleofsisterhood.org or www.halftheskymovement.org. Sponsors from The Circle of Sisterhood Foundation will be traveling to Wesleyan to talk to students at the end of October about how they can help make a difference by donating time or money to this cause. Virginia Wesleyan is proud to let these voices be heard in order to end womens oppression and begin their education.

Community

Devin Cowhey/Courtesy The Wesleyan community stopped to pose for the camera for the Half the Sky photo campaign.
Kaci Parker

Staff Writer

On Monday, Oct. 1, the Virginia Wesleyan Panhellenic Council partnered with Circle of Sisterhood, a national organization which works with sorority women, to sponsor a screening of the documentary, Half the Sky. Boyd Dining Hall filled with 250 students anticipating the premier. Half the Sky aims to remove educational barriers for women and girls everywhere by helping them to escape from poverty and oppression, and it was inspired by journalists Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunns book titled Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. Women all over the world, from Vietnam to the United States, are faced with conflicts many students are fortunate enough not to worry about. However, it is important to know change is possible, and active participation is the solution. Panhellenics mission is to educate all Marlins and the surrounding community of this taboo subject by spreading the word because womens oppression has been covered up for many years. Coordinator of Student Activities Devin Cowhey and junior Jasmine Rivera, campus ambassadors for The Half the Sky Movement, have prepared for months to bring this issue to the surface.

Rio Ziegler/Marlin Chronicle Junior Taylor Ladyman signs the Half the Sky Poster after the screening.

Margaritaville meets Marlinville

Wesleyan gears up for Homecoming 2012 with the recent changes the weeks various celebrations.

Sequoia Mulgrave, Rachel Balsley & Devin Cowhey/Marlin Chronicle Homecoming week has a variety of annual activities such as Airband and the parade, along with new events such as the Half the Sky documentary screening.

rayven davis

Staff Writer

Everyone comes home for the holidaysand Homecoming. This week Virginia Wesleyan has been celebrating its annual homecoming festivities. The week kicked off with the themed spirit days, which were planned by the Student Government Association. The days were: Decade Day, House Salad Day, Wacky Tacky Day, Superhero Day and, lastly, Marlin Nation. Director of Traditions on the Wesleyan Activities Council, Shameika Harris, has been hard at work for the past few weeks making advertisements to promote the events that have been happening all week and making sure everything was all set. There is a lot of coordination between SGA and WAC to make Homecoming the best it can be. This year the overall theme is a take on Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville, adopting it to make Marlinville. There are traditional events that occur each year. Airband takes place tonight and is an opportu- nity for groups, not just sororities and fraternities, to perform skits. Its a big tradition for Greek Life, and Tri Sigma is ready to make a comeback this year, said senior Crystal

Jones. The Homecoming Parade is in its 6th year this year. It occurs on Batten sidewalk and allows groups, organizations and even dogs, to partake and win various prizes. Students are very excited about this years parade. Im excited about the softball teams theme for the parade, said freshman Hali Goad. The German Department of the college helps with the parade and the Oktoberfest Dinner. Other traditions include the Sunday services as well as the Parents Brunch, sponsored by Greek Life.

Saturday Oct. 6 , the annual Homecoming Tailgate begins at 12 p.m. on Trinder Lawn. It is an opportunity to watch a doublehead-

er featuring the womens soccer team at 11a.m. and the mens soccer team at 2 p.m. Im most looking forward to the parade and the mens soccer game, said Village III Village Coordinator Skylor Morton. A special event to take place during Homecoming this year was the showing of Half the Sky. It tells the story of many women, specifically in Sierra Leone, Cambodia and Vietnam, who are enslaved and oppressed, and shows what we can do to stop it. It is a two-part special presentation provided by PBS. This year a major change was made to the homecoming dance. Instead, of using an off-campus venue the dance will be held in Boyd Dining Center. There is a team of decorators with a vision in sight to keep along with tradition to present a nice, semi-formal social event. The doors open at 10 p.m., tomorrow night, and all of WAC encourages you to come! Dean of Students Keith Moore is very excited to be trying a more cost efficient option out for the school and students. This year it only costs $3 dollars per person and $5 dollars per couple, saving money for students. Shirts will be given out to mark this years festivities. With the dance being held in a facility VWC owns, the school is also saving money which can be put towards other things. Moore is looking for attendance to rise because the dance is on campus. Over all, the school community is also looking to cut down on the presumed drunk driving that has happened in the past. WAC and SGA hope to see everyone at the dance. There will be refreshments, music, and dancing so come and, waste the night away, again, in Marlinville.