“We started this club because we felt an absence of AAPI [Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander] representation on campus,” Quach said. “Although we are a small community on campus, we deserve to be recognized and to have a space where we can share our culture, history, celebrations and talk about – and bring awareness to – the issues the community is facing as a whole. This is our mission.”

The AAA is comprised of five presidential chairs: President of Recruitment Quach; President of Curriculum Nirbhay Vohra, a [year] [major]; President of Finance Rose Le, a [year] [major]; President of Communications Kamerin Hull a [year] [major]; and President of Human Resources Scotty Jolly, a [year] [major]. Moving forward each year, members of the AAA will vote in an election for the upcoming cabinet.

“This is our club’s first full semester, [and] because of this, our goal is to get as many people involved as possible,” Quach said. “We will have many fun events that aim to educate the Jewell community on the vast and rich AAPI cultures. In addition to this, we will have events around very serious problems facing the AAPI community to raise awareness and promote media literacy.” 

Their first event is set for Sept. 29 at 7pm on the 3rd floor of the PLC for the mid-autumn moon festival. Students who attend can enjoy mooncakes, tea and stickers while observing the supermoon that night.

The AAA is also planning for informative discussions and collaborations with other diversity organizations. Quach encourages all students to join AAA in celebrating the AAPI community regardless of race, ethnicity or culture.

“We want to make this abundantly clear to the Jewell community that you do not have to be AAPI to be a member of the club and to join us for any events,” Quach said. “This club is a place for the community to step out of their comfort zone and experience new foods, cultures, traditions, learn about those cultures and traditions and to participate in productive conversations.”

For more information on events and plans, follow @aaaatjewell on Instagram – with four a’s – or email any of the Cabinet members.

As more students find themselves drawn to graphic design, junior digital media communications (DMC) major and non-profit minor Ryan West and DMC professor Julianne Donovan worked together to create a space to foster and share that creativity. The club was officially created in 2022, in which West acted as president and advertised the club for all to join.

“Design Hive is a branch of William Jewell [College]’s Art Club, where we help other organizations with their marketing – such as [with] posters, flyers, logo designs, t-shirts, stickers, you name it,” West said. “We are here to help others get creative while growing our passion for digital media as well.”

Prior to the club’s start, West admits that she had been thinking about creating such a club since she was in high school, but remained unable due to the stress of graduation. However, at Jewell, West was given the perfect components to finally make her vision of a graphic design community a reality.

“Since [my] freshman year of being at Jewell, I have been planning and recruiting other creative individuals to help me bring Design Hive to life,” West said. “It’s been a great journey, and I’m grateful to have so many helpful hands in this club.”

West created Design Hive with the ultimate goals of having fun and providing her peers with creative opportunities in a relaxed setting.

“Having a space where people can just be creative without the pressure of grades, deadlines and stress on their shoulders is the end goal,” West said. “We want to help our Jewell community out while having fun doing so.”

With Design Hive being newer on campus, West was still testing the waters throughout the first year of the club’s creation. Now, she is focusing on recruitment, expanding the club’s community, and collaborating with other campus organizations.

”We’re planning on working with the Art Club more this year, as well as other clubs to boost their marketing,” she said. “We also plan on having guest speakers who are in the marketing and digital media field to talk with us about the future, networking, etc.”

This year, Design Hive is out of its creation phase and is ready for student leadership to elect an official Executive Board. While West had to step down from the President position, she is encouraging students to pursue leadership and membership in the club to those who are interested. 

“A way to be involved is to come to our weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 4 p.m.” she said. “Our meetings are held in the DMC lounge in Brown Hall.”

Another way to keep in touch with Design Hive is to follow @jewell_designhive on Instagram and/or to fill out this Google Form to sign up for newsletter emails.

Gender Issues and Feminism 

Gender Issues and Feminism (GIF) is a student-led campus organization dedicated to understanding the “multiplicity of lived experiences of womanhood” and involving the campus in an ongoing discussion about important issues relating to sex and gender, the GIF cabinet explained. 

GIF is an organization which seeks to go beyond discussion – GIF is an opportunity for members to join a collective that can push for important changes on campus, such as increasing access to contraceptives and menstrual products. 

GIF has three main goals: “to critically and intersectionally examine gender issues through a feminist lens, to provide a safe and dedicated space for discussions of sex and gender-related issues” and to develop projects with the aim of bringing awareness to sex and gender-related issues, empowering marginalized voices and creating a culture on campus wherein these issues are openly and safely discussed. 

“[It] is important to us to guide our examinations of feminism and gender issues through an intersectional lens… Feminist issues, and other gender issues, are inextricably linked with the experiences of other marginalized groups. Too often feminism presumes a white, middle to upper class, straight, cis experience and strives for gender justice based on that assumption… GIF recognizes that we cannot push for change without requiring intersectionality of ourselves, of Jewell, and of our community,” the GIF cabinet said.

“[We’re] looking to see open, honest, and critical conversation about anything related to sex, gender, and feminism,” the cabinet continued. “This includes critiquing feminist ideology itself and also analyzing how we as individuals and we as a community perceive and address gender issues and sexual relationships. Our ultimate goal is to offer a positive, judgment-free, and open community where issues that can often be considered taboo or difficult to talk about can be freely discussed.”

GIF is an inclusive club that seeks to “address gender injustices on campus.” Joining this club will ensure that you are well-prepared to apply a critical feminist and intersectional approach to solve real world problems related to issues of sex and gender.

Cabinet: Catherine Dema, Engagement Chair; Madison Carroll-Porth, Events Chair; Lydia Enge, Communication Chair; and Christina Kirk, Project Management Chair. GIF is seeking a Finance Chair. 

Students for Liberty 

Students for Liberty (SFL) is a global non-profit libertarian organization dedicated to its mission to “educate, develop, and empower the next generation of leaders of liberty.” Sophomore Samuel Slaughter, history and secondary education major, revived Jewell’s SFL club. Slaughter wanted to create a neutral space where people could come together and start a conversation without having to take a side on an issue and “without feeling the need to always be right.”

SFL existed previously under the leadership of Parker Jenkins, ’20. Slaughter consulted with Jenkins about the potential to revive the club. SFL provides a platform on which to foster neutral, civil discourse in the political realm at Jewell. 

“[We] will aim to be the voice of reason, love, and acceptance on campus. We will do everything in our power to make real change happen at Jewell in the coming years…,” states SFL’s Instagram page. “Liberty is fit FOR ALL.” 

SFL will hold different kinds of meetings in order to meet their mission including Tablings – where an issue will be thoroughly explored in a student-led discussion – and Circle Seminars – where one person leads the conversation on a topic and people sitting around a circle share what they think about the topic. Slaughter says if you want to join in on a “judgment free political conversation and make a real difference at Jewell” through practical action, then SFL is the club for you. 

Cabinet: Samuel Slaughter, President; Erin Watts, Vice President; Angelica Stiles, Secretary; Morgan Tuttle, Treasurer; and Paige Wright, Social Media Manager. 

Supervised by Professor Nathan Wyman and legitimized by Becca Saffier last year, William Jewell College’s Art Club is a no judgment zone. The Hilltop Monitor sat down with one of the founders of the club, Senior Heather Jackson, at one of its open studios to chat about its mission and the reason behind its foundation.

“I was disappointed when I first came to Jewell my freshman year that there wasn’t an art club because I love art so much,” said Jackson. “I am going to be a studio art minor, and having another outlet for people to express themselves in this creative way is really helpful.”

Jackson was also struck to stick with this idea when Jewell’s accreditation was on probation and the tough decision was made to cut the art program. 

“Because of the accreditation issues and how the art department was cut, we just don’t have any visual arts available on campus other than the digital media classes and Professor Wyman’s stage design classes,” Jackson said. “There are all these important aspects of art and how it can engage with the community that we are unfortunately lacking at Jewell, and my hope is that the At Club can bolster that.”

Jackson said the club’s mission is to welcome artists of all kinds to come and learn or just hangout and be creative.  

“You don’t have to have any kind of experience level with art, you can have never even picked up a pencil or a paintbrush before and you can just come here and chill and work on whatever you want,” Jackson said. 

Jackson also talked about the educating environment of having different levels of artists in the club. 

“Sometimes people are here who know a lot more about the medium you may be working with, so you can ask them for advice or help or other constructive criticism from your peers,” Jackson said. “We want to foster a really encouraging environment for the arts, and I think we’ve done pretty well so far.” 

Art Club also has access to other resources on campus. 

“We also support the artists who are exhibited in the Stocksdale Gallery only a couple floors above where we work, and I’m hoping in the future that the art club can work with the wider Kansas City community,” Jackson said. “I think the idea of uniting student expression and interest with community interest and expression is so important.”

Jackson also made it clear that anyone is welcome at Art Club

“Anyone is welcome to come, they don’t have to have taken any art classes or be a digital media major. There are no requirements or prerequisites, as long as you respect the space and the people here you are absolutely welcome to stay and come back.”

There are some events that you will see next semester where the Art Club will be pairing with QUILTBAG and Students for Mental Health on campus to have some time to unwind before finals with playdoh, finger painting and potentially even an Art Club exhibit in the Stocksdale Gallery where anyone who wants to submit their art can do so.

Art Club usually meets Wednesdays at 4:30, but the space is open for student use almost anytime. So if you’re feeling creative, or just want a relaxed environment to chill out next semester, make sure to stop by G22 in Brown Hall and check it out.