2008 Woodie Awards
Women's issues addressed at Salve
Lindsay Little
Issue date: 3/3/04 Section: Campus News
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The Mission Statement of Salve Regina University declares that the institution "prepares men and women for responsible lives by imparting and expanding knowledge, developing skills and cultivating enduring values." The mission concludes that the university "encourages students to work for a world that is harmonious, just, and merciful." Recently, Jenny Bladykas, a junior at Salve, and her fellow VIA program members decided that the university's mission must include the expansion of Salve students' knowledge of women's issues.
Although the importance of womens' issues will not likely become a written objective in the University's Mission Satement, Bladykas and the VIA class members will no longer remain silent about affairs that concern all women who are active in today's society.
Bladykas was inspired to pursue bringing a means for women's resources to the Salve campus when she read the book A Very Hungry Girl by Jessica Weiner. The book, which imparts the authors experiences and struggles as a young woman with body image, self-esteem and other often serious female issues, motivated Bladykas to take action. She e-mailed Weiner and was encouraged by the author to start a movement towards awareness of women's issues at her own school. Since that first correspondence, Bladykas has not looked back.
In a recent interview, Bladykas expressed that she is amazed that "with the amount of women on this campus, we don't have a place for them to go for support, information, or just an outlet for their voice." In fact, until 2002, a campus organization Women's Issues Now was listed in the student handbook. The club was described as "a group designed for the empowerment and support of women in today's society." Unfortunately the club did not survive on campus. Apparently they just missed a wave of support in the form of Bladykas and her VIA class.
The VIA program, or "Vital Studies For Whole Life Design," is a four year program in conjunction with the student's choice of major, in which the students and teacher work as a team. According to the student handbook, those students accepted into the VIA program take one class together per semester in which they focus on "the 'great ideas' in history that teach us how to construct the 'Good Life.' Taken together, these courses provide a 'pathway' ('via' in Latin) to graduation and to the best preparation for life in the 21st century." Certainly awareness of women's issues and positive social change falls under this description.
Although the importance of womens' issues will not likely become a written objective in the University's Mission Satement, Bladykas and the VIA class members will no longer remain silent about affairs that concern all women who are active in today's society.
Bladykas was inspired to pursue bringing a means for women's resources to the Salve campus when she read the book A Very Hungry Girl by Jessica Weiner. The book, which imparts the authors experiences and struggles as a young woman with body image, self-esteem and other often serious female issues, motivated Bladykas to take action. She e-mailed Weiner and was encouraged by the author to start a movement towards awareness of women's issues at her own school. Since that first correspondence, Bladykas has not looked back.
In a recent interview, Bladykas expressed that she is amazed that "with the amount of women on this campus, we don't have a place for them to go for support, information, or just an outlet for their voice." In fact, until 2002, a campus organization Women's Issues Now was listed in the student handbook. The club was described as "a group designed for the empowerment and support of women in today's society." Unfortunately the club did not survive on campus. Apparently they just missed a wave of support in the form of Bladykas and her VIA class.
The VIA program, or "Vital Studies For Whole Life Design," is a four year program in conjunction with the student's choice of major, in which the students and teacher work as a team. According to the student handbook, those students accepted into the VIA program take one class together per semester in which they focus on "the 'great ideas' in history that teach us how to construct the 'Good Life.' Taken together, these courses provide a 'pathway' ('via' in Latin) to graduation and to the best preparation for life in the 21st century." Certainly awareness of women's issues and positive social change falls under this description.
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