HERfest celebrates womanhood and community

The Women's Center and partner organizations on campus hosted its second annual HERfest at the Student Center patio on Oct. 3. The event was rooted in the center's commitment to honoring and celebrating women in an academic setting and cultivating a greater love of womanhood as a campus community.

"I think events like this are important for the campus to simply celebrate womanhood," said sophomore Allison Thebeau. "It's a beautiful, fun thing and it's good to recognize it."

The event was a collaboration between the Center for Community Engagement (CCE), the Women's Center, the Office of Housing and Residential Life, the Office of Equity and Diversity and the Campus Activity Board (CAB).

According to Women's Center Director Starsheemar Byrum, donations were being collected for Shawn's Cupboard, Eastern's resident food pantry. "The CCE's leadership made supporting Shawn's Cupboard and a local shelter part of its giving-back initiatives," said Byrum. "We cannot thank the Willimantic-based community businesses and organizations enough for their generous and thoughtful donations, which were used as prizes."

She continued: "The donation drive was the main thing that was unique about this year compared to last. We built connections with different organizations around the community and were able to collect goods, menstrual products and hygiene products.

"We're looking forward to not only giving back to the community at large but right here at Eastern where students can have their needs met."

HERfest brought the talents of local vendors with a focus on creative women-owned businesses including henna artists, face painting and a caricaturist. Additionally, the event featured the contributions of women-focused clubs on campus, such as DIY activities from the Women's Weightlifting Club and student performances from Fusion, J'Quo and Modern Movement.

The #CREATEDbyHER Gallery along the Student Center sidewalk exhibited artwork by Eastern students and staff. Senior art major and CAB Coordinator Meghan Wrobel contributed a poster depicting silhouetted hands with shackles and quotes that reflect the struggles of the female experience.

"The shackles in the poster are actually my hands that I traced, so it's pulling them down and it's pushing the fact that we should break the sexist shackles that still hold us down," said Wrobel.

"The quotes and things that are said about women are things that pull people down, so we're being pulled down by those shackles invisibly."

As a CAB crew member, Wrobel was heavily involved in the event planning process and explained that the goal was to cultivate a communal space where women are safe and seen.

"Events like these are a form of empowerment and just like feeling your best self, especially as a female or a woman," said Wrobel. "I think my artwork really fits the theme of the event well because historically in society, women are put down, so I really wanted to show how feminism didn't just stop when we got voting rights or anything like that -- it's still going on today.

"It's important to keep that in mind and still fight for rights that we should have."