While working in D.C, Jennifer Mandelblatt got the unique opportunity to ask one question to the senator she was working for, Tom Harkin. She asked what it would take to get college kids to come together and Jennifer received this enlightening answer from Sen. Harkin: “We need college students to come together, to put aside their differences and create a common agenda.”
Taking this answer and running with it, Jennifer called up some old friends and dove headfirst into a plan focused on the collection of college women working toward a common goal. From there, it was about gaining attention for their proposal. In July of 2016, they did just that by hosting a National Convention for Platform. The convention had several keynote speakers and more than 35 delegates from 13 states.
It was at this convention that the goals of Platform were set. The Platform team wanted to be a unique organization that focused on taking ownership over our democracy and creating a path for women and other minorities to get their voices heard by those that need to hear it.
Similar to other women’s groups, Platform will advocate for the empowerment of women, but its focus will rest mostly on lobbying and directly affecting the decisions that politicians make. The women of Platform decided to accomplish this goal with three steps, the first being the convention where the five-point plan will be constructed, and it will guide the issues to be targeted.
Second is the lobbying process in which Platform will focus its attention on speaking to politicians and ensuring their support for all five agenda points.
Finally, the pledge-maker roll step will focus on re-electing those who support the plan and attempting to persuade or remove those that don’t.
The aim with this plan is to establish control and effectively enact change so that “21st-century feminism” is achieved. Though the message of Platform is to work for and empower women, they encourage policy change that works for all minorities because as Jennifer states, “Human rights should not be a partisan issue.”
So what does this mean for you? Well, lucky for us, Platform is establishing chapter right here at OSU. Sydney Stewart, a hometown friend of Jennifer’s, is spreading the Platform name by bringing in women of OSU to grow ideas for improvement on our campus. The next four meetings for this sprouting club will be focused on education.
Sydney and the other women of Platform will focus on educating members on policies that affect us everyday and how we can break them down in a way that everyone will understand. The club receives a debate pack from the national organization that will focus the educational meetings. Separate from these educational meetings are the project meeting that will happen simultaneously; OSU Platform will focus on brainstorming ideas of how they can positively affect the lives of women and minorities at OSU. The projects committee will accept idea from educational meetings, but any student can bring ideas to the committee that fall under the scope of Platform.
They want to be a representative club, so the issues in focus will grow from what women want to see improved on campus. Once these ideas are finalized, they will formulate into projects to be taken on by the women of Platform. “We at OSU have a unique opportunity to influence change with our close proximity to our state representatives,” said Stewart.
Yes, changing campus policies would be a promising and possible outcome of the projects done by Platform. However, being associated with a national organization, Platform OSU aims to work their project ideas into state policy and national policy along with the other Platform affiliate campuses. In addition, they plan on holding happy hour and networking events, among other socials, that are meant to gain attention for the Platform name and encourage students to support the upcoming projects.
As a national organization, Platform wants to grow and expand so that it may support many minorities and groups of women. They want to force politicians to listen to a concentration of voices that have long been forgotten. The OSU campus level has similar goals. The first priority is growing the name of Platform and getting enough women with great ideas to execute real change.
By listening to the students on campus, Sydney and the other Platform members wish to center their voices into an undeniable roar of demand. A group like this is promising for those who may feel neglected, and I strongly encourage you to join this group that forces policy makers to listen to those who have been silenced.
Even if you decide not to join Platform, you must always remember their slogan, “Our bodies. Our lives. Our futures”.