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.”

Looking for something to do on campus this week? Here are some of the events that are hosted by and for the Jewell community:

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the women’s basketball team will be going up against Drury University at 6 p.m. This away game, as well as other away games, can be viewed on the William Jewell College athletics page. 

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Gender Issues and Feminism (GIF) is hosting a discussion about Black feminism in room 112 of the PLC at 10:30 a.m. The discussion will center around a video about Black feminism in celebration of Black History Month. 

On Thursday, Feb. 25, in room 221/222 of the Yates-Gill Union, Black Student Alliance (BSA) is hosting their annual Jewell Kitchen event to honor local Black foods and Black culinary influences. Tickets for this event will be sold during Jewell Time in the Union until the day of the event, or until all tickets are sold.

On Friday, Feb. 26, GIF is hosting a Menstrual Product Drive in the Union. Students can donate menstrual products to GIF for their “Take One, Leave One” campaign. This campaign allows the club to offer free menstrual products to the Jewell community in various bathroom locations across campus. 

At 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the softball team will be going up against the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Northwest Missouri State University, respectively. At 5 p.m., the women’s soccer team will be going up against Drury University, and the men’s soccer team will also go up against Drury at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Feb. 27, the softball team will be going up against Upper Iowa University at 11 a.m. The women’s basketball team will face off against Rockhurst University at 1 p.m. At the same time, the women’s and men’s tennis teams will be going up against Missouri Valley College. At 3 p.m., the men’s basketball team will play Rockhurst University. At the same time, the softball team will be going up against Midwestern State University Texas and the women’s volleyball team will be going up against the University of Southern Indiana. At 6 p.m., the women’s volleyball team will be facing off against Maryville University. 

On Sunday, Feb. 28, the women’s soccer team will play against Missouri S&T at 12 p.m. The men’s soccer team will play against Missouri S&T at 2:30 p.m.

William Jewell College’s Gender Issues and Feminism Club (GIF) kicked off the first semester by introducing condoms and menstrual products to a number of on-campus buildings as part of their first project. While the menstrual products provided by GIF operate on a take one, leave one basis, GIF was able to work with Nurse Brown and Health Services to receive funding for condoms, which will be continually refilled throughout the school year.

GIF’s efforts to bring condoms to residence halls on campus ended a long struggle to bring contraceptives directly to Jewell students in their living spaces. Before GIF’s distribution, condoms were only available to students through the Health Center or Dr. Tricia Hager. Jewell students have made many attempts to bring contraceptives to campus, especially within the last seven years. Student Senate attempted to bring condoms to Jewell’s campus twice, but both efforts fell through. Shelly King, dean of students, was able to provide more insight.

“The first time, the feedback received from the student body regarding condom distribution on campus was very low. The second time, Senate voted as a group to provide condoms on campus in the [residence] halls. Unfortunately, they made it the responsibility of the RAs in each building to keep them stocked. The next senate cabinet did not move forward with pursuing this,” King said.

Though past efforts by Jewell’s Student Senate cabinets did not hold up, GIF is determined to keep up with the distribution of condoms as part of their work towards being an active club on campus. This was one of GIF’s first on-campus projects to create a more sex-positive environment and to encourage students to join a club that was able to take action towards their goals.

This year’s GIF Cabinet Chairs include: Engagement Chair Catherine Dema, senior Oxbridge: History of Ideas and physics major; Project Management Chair Christina Kirk, senior Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy and international relations major; Events Chair Madison Carroll, senior Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy and international relations major; Communications Chair Lydia Enge, junior political science and communications major; and Financial Chair Langston Riddle, first-year Oxbridge: Institutions and Policy major. 

GIF undertook the project of bringing contraceptives to Jewell’s campus as a way to make their presence known to students and to show that they are a club that believes in taking action. Their aim on campus is to become involved with other clubs and to complete more projects that will engage Jewell students on issues relating to gender and sex. They also plan to host events that will comply with Jewell’s current COVID-19 guidelines, while also helping students with a variety of issues.

The move to bring contraceptives like condoms into Jewell’s residence halls has already seen some success and positive feedback from students. GIF was able to finish a project that has long been neglected on Jewell’s campus due to a number of different problems. Condoms and menstrual products were put in baskets around campus by GIF Chairs and will be maintained by the group throughout the year.

GIF used club funds to pay for menstrual products, which will hopefully stay self-sustained with their take one, leave one initiative. GIF is hopeful that the introduction of contraceptives to campus will foster a new environment of sex-positivity. Events Chair Madison Carroll spoke with the Monitor about her thoughts on the impact these actions would have on students.

“I hope that students will use the products and feel free to contact us regarding getting financial assistance for other amenities, like pregnancy tests and Plan B. I hope this gives students a more accessible way to get these products if they have a financial need. Studies have also shown that providing contraceptives in dormitories can create a more sex-positive atmosphere on campus which I think is something Jewell needs and hope that comes as a result of this initiative,” Carroll said.

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.