The EMU campus has welcomed two new clubs to be a part of the existing ones: the University Women’s Empowerment Network (UWEN) club and The Community of Disabled Individuals (CODI) club. Senior business student Lizzy Kirkton sparked the idea of UWEN by searching for a lasting project to create for her internship at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce. The influential start-up of the UWEN club is from a developed group at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce called the Women’s Empowerment Network (WEN). Lizzy’s goal was to create a connection between students and local businesses, andEMU was lacking a club for females to network and connect with each other. This provided the perfect chance to take advantage of that and start up the UWEN club. The idea of Lizzy wanting to connect with the local community while also creating a dedicated space for women and allies to connect on campus was a main reason for the start of the club. The UWEN club has many hopes,the biggest is that it can satisfy the needs of current undergraduate students as well as adapt to adjust needs for future students. UWEN is currently working on creating a mentor-mentee program with EMU UWEN members and local Chamber of Commerce UWEN members. The overall hope is that UWEN is simply a place for women on campus to connect and share experiences without fear. The UWEN club has a number of rough plans in the works, however, the UWEN has the Mentor-Mentee program, an all-girls ultimate frisbee night on April 14, and is planning a female-led panel in the next month or so. To be able to participate in the mentor mentee program you must become a member. The best way to get in contact with the UWEN club is through their Groupme or by their email: uwen@emu.edu. Their current collaborations are with ultimate frisbee, Queer Student Alliance (QSA), and Peer Educators. The accomplishments that the UWEN is hoping for in the future is hosting at least 3 more events before the end of the year or semester, and they have elections for leaders coming up soon, so they hope to see new faces within leadership. The UWEN club is always looking for any ideas and potential collaborations within the community. 
The Community of Disabled Individuals (CODI) started by Milee White, who is a disabled person herself, noticed that EMU has a significant community of people who have disabilities. The CODI club is a place for everyone and allies to come together and learn from one another. CODI wants to raise awareness of issues in the disabled community and raise awareness that disability should not be ignored. CODI hopes to become acknowledged as they have been pushed aside for long enough and make a mark on the community and on the world. Upcoming events for CODI they are hoping for is to have a Voices and Vibes event where everyone can come together and dance and have fun, and also where some of their members can share their stories and really talk about CODI and what they stand for in further detail. CODI would love to work with a bunch of other clubs but doesn’t have specific plans to do so yet. CODI wants to show people that the disabled community is strong, fun, and capable just like the rest of the community. They can do just as much as a regular person can and are so much fun to get to know. CODI wants EMU to be a better place for it, and to have an open community for disabled folks and non disabled friends to exist together. Milee White is genuinely excited to begin the journey and to have the privilege of including so many people in the journey she’s had for a long time. Milee being part of the blind community has made her who she is and being able to share her disabled experience with others has made her an activist and start up a new club. CODI hopes that the EMU community will be just as excited as they are for the start of their journey and also for their future.