oSTEM at William Jewell College is a student-led organization intent on supporting and providing resources for STEM-orientated LGBTQIA+ students.

oSTEM, an abbreviated term for Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, is an internationally recognized nonprofit association with over 100 affiliated college and university chapters. The association –founded in 2009 as the first society to specifically support LGBTQIA+ STEM students — hosts national and regional conferences to bring awareness to diversity in science while also funding scholarships and mentorship programs for members.

oSTEM at Jewell was previously inactive due to changes in campus community and culture; however, the organization was reactivated mid-semester as interest regenerated.

Liz Payton, acting president for oSTEM and biochemistry major, said that she saw oSTEM at Jewell as an opportunity where she could navigate her own identity and also support others with similar insecurities about pursuing fields that are historically known to lack diversity.

After student leaders from several other inclusion-focused groups encouraged her to restart the organization in late January, Payton and her friend created an oSTEM Instagram account. By mid-February, Student Life took notice of the new Instagram page and reached out to begin the process of officially reinstating oSTEM at Jewell.

Specific to oSTEM and its mission, Payton explained the ways in which false biological sciences have been used to shut down conversations pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity.

“There is no disputing that science and related fields have been used as a tool to harm minority communities and push a narrative of superiority and power in the past,” Payton said. “Despite the progress we have made away from this power dynamic, we are still seeing a lack of diversity in STEM.”

Taking advice from Dr. Rodney Smith, vice president of access and engagement, oSTEM at Jewell said a large part of their purpose is in inspiring future generations by laying the groundwork for inclusion in the present.

With LGBTQIA+ identities still underrepresented in occupational fields, oSTEM at Jewell hopes to look into reducing barriers for students who plan to attend graduate school or otherwise work in STEM-related careers.

“We are wanting to look at ways to reduce barriers for students as they move towards STEM careers or graduate school, and that would include skill-building workshops such as how to make a good STEM resume or ways to work on social confidence and presentation skill,” Payton said. “In this initiative, we will also help students look for potential research opportunities and other ways to increase their technical skills.”

oSTEM at Jewell further plans to eventually tackle issues like workplace stigma or hostility. Payton notes, however, that outside experts will need to lead the conversation on such serious topics.

“The overarching theme here is really just education and support,” Payton said. “We want students to know that they are valid in their own identities and [that] they belong in the STEM community and we want to provide some pathways [to help students] reach acceptance of themselves.” 

While oSTEM at Jewell is primarily an organization focused on the LGBTQIA+ STEM community, the club welcomes non-STEM majors as well. According to the organization’s current guidelines, non-STEM majors cannot be considered official members, but they are nonetheless welcomed at meetings to support friends or contribute to the conversation.

Rose Reynolds, associate professor and chair of biology, is the faculty sponsor for oSTEM at Jewell. Reynolds also sponsored the previous chapter of oSTEM several years ago.

A temporary cabinet will serve for the remainder of this semester and will be responsible for structuring the club and facilitating the upcoming elections of the permanent cabinet. The organization plans to elect an official cabinet for the 2021-22 academic year after becoming more established and stable.

“We want the process to be as transparent and democratic as possible so we felt that immediately asking oSTEM members to vote for a permanent cabinet would be unfair, especially as we are still trying to recruit members,” Payton said. 

As the organization is still trying to cultivate interest among the Jewell community, the temporary cabinet is not operating under harshly defined roles yet. Instead, each member is working together to meet the immediate needs of the organization. Once the permanent cabinet is elected, the stipulated cabinet roles as set aside in oSTEM’s constitution will become the guiding practice for the cabinet members. 

These roles include President, Director of Finances and Director of Membership. Though not decided upon yet, the cabinet is discussing adding the specific role of a Director of Marketing or Public Relations. 

However, Payton said that part of denoting the responsibilities of the cabinet positions will depend on the actual implementation of leadership and the personalities behind them.

“It is a fluid process with a lot of learning involved, so I think it would be wrong to rigidly fixate upon the roles indefinitely,” Payton said. “We trust that the previous oSTEM group worked out an efficient way to handle the logistics of the organization, and we decided to keep their leadership structure and just build upon it as needed.”

The emphasis on fluidity and reflection is especially important given the difficult conditions of restarting a club during a pandemic wherein oSTEM at Jewell is rendered unable to effectively host recruiting events under Operation Safe Campus. Payton said that the club will take a risk-benefit assessment approach in hosting meetings next fall.

“With such serious topics like gender and sexual identity, it can be difficult for people to express themselves in front of others,” Payton said. “On top of that, expressing themselves in a Zoom call may be even harder. Face-to-face meetings seem to be the more comfortable option to engage in such dialogue, but we also want to ensure that students are physically safe during the pandemic.” 

Potentially interested students can follow the club on Instagram (@jewell_ostem). More information about oSTEM chapters can be found on oSTEM’s official site.

Christian outreach at William Jewell College expanded this semester with the establishment of a new bible study club: WJC Bible Study. First-year civil engineering majors Grant Stubbs and Jordan Jermain founded this club a couple of weeks into the spring 2021 semester.

“Jordan and I wanted to start this club to give the students a form of Christian outreach on campus. We want to give other students an opportunity to hear the word of God, as well as giving us a chance to grow in our faith,” Stubbs said.

To spread the word about the club, Stubbs and Jermain made an Instagram account to publicize meeting dates and share words of spiritual inspiration. The account currently has over 150 followers. 

Though Stubbs was initially skeptical about how much interest there would be among students, he stated that an average of about 20 people attend the club’s weekly meetings. At its peak, around 30 students attended – an impressive turnout for a Jewell student organization. 

“During a typical meeting, we watch a video to start off,” Stubbs said. “After that we read a short passage and go over some discussion questions with the group. Sometimes we go over 2 or 3 passages. Meetings usually run for about 45 [minutes].”

Stubbs and Jermain also often bring snacks to help incentivize attendance. 

In some of their previous meetings, the club has focused on studying particular books – Ecclesiastes, for example, at their March 8 meeting – or on broader Christian concepts like the concept of peace and what it means to Christians at their March 1 meeting. 

“The discussions are structured around questions asked about the passage. They serve as an open floor for anyone to share thoughts or questions about the passage or video,” Stubbs said.

Jewell has a few other spiritual organizations, the most notable of which being Christian Service Ministries (CSM), a non-denominational Christian worship group that provides resources and activities to help members of the campus community grow in their faith. However, Stubbs notes that WJC Bible Study provides a function distinct from CSM because it centers specifically on scriptural studies while CSM engages in a number of faith-building endeavors, including service activities and worship events.

“Our club does not have the typical structure of worship, then a sermon. Our club is more discussion based and focused on exploring Jesus’ teachings as a group,” Stubbs said. “We would love to give people opportunities to give sermons and worship together. Hopefully that is in our future.”

Stubbs reiterated that WJC Bible Study’s mission centers around outreach and that the ultimate goal of the club is to bring Christians in the campus community together. 

“The goal of this club is to reach as many people as possible at this school and help them learn about God. It is also to create fellowship and bring fellow believers together,” Stubbs said.

If you are interested in WJC Bible Study, meetings are held in Mathes Hall every Monday at 7 p.m. To get updates about meetings and to receive pieces of spiritual inspiration, follow WJC Bible Study’s Instagram, @wjcbiblestudy. 

Spring semester at William Jewell College means a lot of things for seniors, but for Pryor Leadership Fellows, it means it’s time to start the legacy project for 2021. This year the group decided on funding and turning a shipping container into a functioning learning center for MO Hives, with hopes for completion in early May. 

MO Hives is a local nonprofit that Legacy project champions, Kylee Newton, senior accounting and nonprofit leadership, and Megan Sprague, senior psychological science and nonprofit leadership major, interned with during the summer and fall. Founded in Kansas City in 2019, MO Hives works to bring education and excitement back to the honey bee. 

“By creating a healthy urban apiary model that can be duplicated in other Missouri cities, MO Hives KC will inspire communities, provide experiential learning opportunities, amplify community garden yields, increase bee populations, and beautify previously blighted property,” MO Hives shared on their website. 

Newton and Sprague both fell in love with MO Hives and their mission. 

“I was first exposed to MO Hives KC in my fundraising class here at Jewell,” Newton said. “I immediately connected with their mission to restore the bee population and make an environmental impact in KC. The founders of this amazing organization are making small strides everyday that have a huge impact.”

2021 Pryor fellows wanted to choose a project involving education, as COVID-19 has greatly impacted the freedom and productivity in the Kansas City education system. After this home base is built, it can be utilized for storage, field trips and community gatherings. The group hopes that this base will be a beneficial space for not only young students but the whole KC area.

On top of transforming the inside of the shipping container, Pryor Fellows are working to build a 12-foot surrounding deck with wheelchair access in order to support an outdoor gathering area. The goal is to use as many recycled and sustainable resources as possible – from seats to hooks – so Pryor can stay within budget and have a better environmental impact. 

“This project will impact everyone in the community,” Newton said. “Bees are vital. Pollinators impact the air we breathe, the beauty we see, and the food we eat. MO Hives is creating a space to sustain and grow the pollinator population. The completion of our outdoor education center will also open the door for opportunities to learn about bees and sustainable agriculture. This initiative will bring STEM back into the community.”

The fundraising and logistics committees have started a GoFundMe and designed shirts to raise a goal amount of $12,000. The group is also looking at hosting a larger event once the weather improves. The event would possibly involve food trucks and outdoor lawn games around the quad. Pryor Fellows plan to finish fundraising by mid-April, so the group can break ground on the project by the end of the month.

More specific details regarding future fundraising, events and the finished product will be available on the Pryor Legacy 2021 Facebook and Instagram pages.

Alongside many other efforts to highlight the importance of equity and inclusion, students, staff and organizations at William Jewell College have come together to honor Black History Month despite the challenges that COVID-19 presented this year.

To account for the decreasing number of students on campus and the need for socially-distanced events, organizations have modified traditional events and piloted unique celebrations in the month of February.

One organization, the Black Student Alliance (BSA), is set to host their annual Jewell Kitchen event Thursday, Feb. 25, to celebrate local foods and Black culinary influences, according to BSA President Tavarus Pennington, junior communication and English major.

The event will take place on the floor above the cafeteria in rooms 221 and 222 of the Yates-Gill College Union. BSA will provide adequate space for all attendees to eat socially-distanced and the food will be served by the Fresh Ideas staff. Pennington explained that BSA wanted the event to remain “as true to tradition as safely possible,” and he hopes that it will look similar to the current Jewell cafeteria experience.

Students can purchase tickets for the event in the Union during Jewell time until Thursday or until all tickets are sold. 

Additionally, Student Life hosted a Black History Month Jeopardy night Feb. 8 in the Melrose lobby. However, with limitations on in-person gatherings, many celebrations were moved onto social media. 

On Instagram, the Gender Issues and Feminism club (GIF) celebrated Black womxn who had “contributed to the advancement of black people and worked hard to create spaces where black bodies are appreciated and free,” as they wrote in their #WomenCrushWednesday post Feb. 3. 

GIF honored Tarana Burke, founder of the #MeToo movement and activist against sexual violence, Feb. 3; Maya Wiley, founder and president of the Center for Social Inclusion and racial justice advocate, Feb. 10; Majora Carter, founder of the non-profit environmental justice group Sustainable South Bronx, Feb. 17; and Alicia Garza, special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-creator of #BlackLivesMatter, Feb. 24.

Additionally, they held an event on Black feminism on Feb. 24. Lydia Enge, senior political science and communication major and GIF’s communications chair, led a presentation and discussion on Black feminism, which included definitions of Black feminism, a brief outline of its history and supplementary videos which further described the importance and origins of Black feminism.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed BSA’s ability to generate sustained interest in the organization itself, Pennington explained that Black history carries importance regardless.

“To me, celebrating Black history is a solemn act of self-reflection and humble appreciation and respect,” Pennington said. “The ethos of solitude that the pandemic presents us with seems to be perfect for any productive ‘celebration’ of Black history. With that said, obviously the pandemic has made it very difficult to plan engaging material activities to do with Black History Month. That’s not even to mention the bitter and downright dangerous cold this month has brought us.”

Vice President for Access and Engagement, Dr. Rodney Smith, reiterated this sentiment as well, emphasizing that Black history and Black History Month is more than just a celebration to many.

“It is important for Black people to know about themselves and about our ancestors, even in the face of a pandemic,” Smith said. “We still need to find ways to continue to celebrate because it’s important to people’s psychological mental health, to people’s beliefs about themselves [and] to people’s self esteem. It also contributes to this idea of self-efficacy, [which] means a belief in your ability.” 

In Smith’s first year at Jewell, several projects intended to supplement the college’s Radical Inclusivity efforts have surfaced and propelled forward with several significant developments, many of which are aimed at amplifying historically-accurate and diverse perspectives.

Recognizing that Jewell was founded as an all-male, whites-only college, these efforts, in addition to Black History Month, can assist students and staff in taking a moment to honor the history behind the institution from which they benefit.

This semester, Jewell implemented a new history course, HIS 204: Slavery, Memory, and Justice, which is taught by Associate Professor of History Dr. Christopher Wilkins to encourage informed conversation on Jewell’s history with slavery and highlight the importance of historical accuracy. Overall, the course is intended to investigate Jewell’s connection to the ubiquity of slavery in the area at the time of its inception.

After realizing that slavery likely played a role in Jewell’s founding, Dr. Smith explained the impact that this revelation had on him.

“And it just dawned on me,” Smith said. “ A few weeks ago as I was walking across campus, I looked over at Jewell Hall, and [I thought], if that is indeed true that enslaved Africans helped to build that building, could they ever imagine me? Could they ever imagine a descendent of enslaved Africans being a part of the leadership on their college campus? It’s a pretty humbling thought from my vantage point.”

To further diversify perspectives, students from various organizations and staff, including Pennington and Smith, launched the Critical Foundations Collection in Curry Library that focuses on amplifying the voices of people and authors from marginalized demographics. The collection features books about BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, feminism, religions alternative to Christianity and more. Sophomore digital communications major Claire Henry, senior physics and Oxbridge history of ideas major and engagement chair for GIF, Catherine Dema, and others were also involved in the initiative.

BSA was one of the leading organizations in developing the Critical Foundations Collection, and according to Pennington, the organization plays an important part in vitalizing Black history given the context and culture at Jewell.

“The importance of black history to BSA is supercharged particularly within a context where we attend a predominantly white institution that boasts a critical approach to liberal arts thinking alongside a predominantly white faculty and core curriculum,” Pennington said. “It seems the natural role of BSA is to contest this sort of culture.”

With such a heavily-Eurocentric curriculum for K-12 and most higher-education institutions in the United States, Smith echoes the importance of diversifying perspectives and highlighting Black history.

“In order to be considered an educated individual or to be thought of as being well-read, you have to read certain pieces,” Dr. Smith said, “and the pieces that we are saying we have to read, historically, have not been very diverse; they haven’t come from a diversity of perspectives. I’m beginning to believe and understand that you’re not [actually] well-read until you’re reading a diversity of perspectives. That fact alone heightens the importance of black history.”

Overall, Smith elaborates, these efforts to honor Black History Month as well as the achievements in permanently including historically-accurate and diverse perspectives can go a long way in inspiring new generations to pursue opportunities of their own.

“How do we gain beliefs in our ability? We gain [self-efficacy] through a couple of ways,” Dr. Smith said. “One of the ways is through vicarious influences: if you see somebody else who looks like you, who is doing this thing or who has done this thing, then it triggers something in you to say, ‘Well, maybe I could do that too.’ It’s important for us to continue to visit those vicarious opportunities so people can see themselves. History gives us an opportunity to expand those opportunities and expand those incidences where [we] can see reflections of ourselves.”