Art Club at William Jewell College has had a bit of a stall the last few years, mainly due to COVID-19, but 2022-23 president Claire Henry, a senior digital media communications major, wants to increase engagement. This year she hopes to cater more to the ‘art’ aspect of the club.

“Art Club didn’t have as much of a presence on campus purely because we were coming out of a really intensive pandemic,” Henry said. “COVID-19 quarantine and social guidelines made it very hard to meet frequently, which is something I know a lot of clubs are dealing with this year.”

Although Henry has not been in the art club cabinet, she has been extensively involved with the general art community at Jewell and the creative activity as a hobby and profession over the past few years.

“I was reached out to by the previous cabinet and they asked if I’d like to run,” Henry said.  “I thought it would be a great opportunity especially in regards to what I want to go into professionally, so I said ‘yes.’”

As a digital media communications major, Henry dedicated her career to graphic design and illustration. However, it was unforeseen as she preferred sculpting in high school.

“I was very sculpture-focused when I was in high school, but I knew that I wanted to go into digital art,” Henry said. “Digital art was something I was pretty unfamiliar with at first. I started practicing graphic design in Adobe Illustrator and I just fell in love with it. Now I’m designing pretty much every day. I don’t think there’s any other career that I’d ever be interested in.“

Now comfortable with her choice in career, Henry said she wants to share her knowledge and help out others in regards to art as a whole.

“My main goal is to [better] establish Art Club on campus and try to make sure that it has more of a presence,” Henry said. “This year, we are going to focus more on the artists that work in the Stocksdale Gallery. The art club will be responsible for greeting them, helping them display their artwork and going to the exhibition openings.”

Art Club is scheduled to meet every Wednesday evening from 6 to 8 p.m., with the first open meeting being Sept. 21. Henry invites and welcomes all students to share their feedback and suggestions.

“We’re going to talk about everybody’s wants and needs with the art club,” Henry said. “Since we do have a budget, we’re going to talk about what kind of materials people want to see and what projects people want to work on. I think that we’re going to try to have some rolling projects, too, so that not every week is a new project. Hopefully, we’ll be able to reflect what our members want out of our club. I want to encourage anyone who is interested in any type of visual arts to come check out the club.”

This year’s cabinet consists of Henry, the president; Vice President Garrett Washington, a sophomore theatre major; Treasurer Sarah Coupland, a senior theatre major; and Secretary Marquis William, a musical theatre major.

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. 

Several students, mostly first-years, attended the Fair. The large number of groups present at the Fair showcased the wide range of interests that Jewell students have. Groups in attendance included: WJC Ballroom Dance, oSTEM, Non-Profit Leadership Association and Greek Life. 

In addition to the excitement of finding activities to join, students were treated to snow cones courtesy of CUA.

Maggie Knesel, senior nonprofit leadership and Spanish major, worked at the Zeta Tau Alpha table during the event and spoke to the Hilltop Monitor about her experience with the Fair throughout her years at Jewell.

“The Activities Fair is a really good way for all the first-years to have their first experience with the Jewell community. It’s also really nice, as an upperclassman, to be able to see my friends before the new year begins,” Knesel said. “Even as a senior, I find new clubs that I wish I would have joined last year. Even though it’s aimed towards first-years the event is good for everyone.”

Many clubs can look forward to new members thanks to the interest built at the Activities Fair.

Photo by: Mykala Crews.