There are many clubs that take major parts in the Eastern Mennonite student community. This year the Eastern Mennonite Student Women’s Association (EMSWA) is one of the up and coming clubs at EMU. Over the years, EMSWA was a very well known club in the EMU community that welcomed female students to a safe space where they could discuss controversial and non-controversial topics. After a couple of years of operation, the club slowly started to fade from its role in the student life and was disenfranchised. This year, EMSWA is being brought back to life and its voice is being heard around campus. The question is, will EMSWA stick around and become an integral part of the EMU community?
Shannon Cooper, a sophomore, discovered the club on the EMU Website this past summer. Cooper decided to reach out to club coordinator, Rachel RothSawatzky, about restarting EMSWA and reviving it. The club has been quiet the past few years, bringing in only a small number of students. Cooper, the new and sole leader of EMSWA, felt there was no better time to re energize this club “with all the social issues going on in the world and on campus.” She enlisted the support of Mary Sprunger, professor and program director in the History department, as club adviser.
Cooper is still in the process of updating parts of the club including the constitution, but is working very hard to bring EMU students together to discuss important topics in today’s world. “I really put my whole heart into it… hoping it will become a huge success on campus.” She also plans to collaborate with other clubs including BSA, LSA, APISA, etc.
The first official meeting of EMSWA was last Thursday, where the members discussed the goals and the main idea of the club. “My goal is to help educate more women, and especially men, about the inequalities in our society, where we see them, and how to go about changing it.”
Not only is EMSWA open to women but also to the male students on campus. Cooper has reached out to multiple professors and students on campus for advice and to get the word out on campus. She is very excited for her hard work to be shown and for the reemergence of the Eastern Mennonite Student Woman Alliance. The next meeting is today, Thursday, Sept. 24, and everyone is welcome.
