Emerson has always been a chapter that likes to take risks, so emailing the chapter network to spotlight different Her Campus Chapters at other schools was no different. One of the schools that we decided to introduce to you is the chapter at Denison University. The chapter is located in Granville, Ohio, which is “a sleepy little college town” with only one main street as its “downtown.” They are about 35 minutes east of Columbus, which is the state capital.
Denison’s chapter is currently about 19 writers, and they were founded 5 years ago. Due to a lack of involvement, the chapter shut down temporarily, but it is now back up and running thanks to one of their members! Even though the Denison chapter is small, they are all looking forward to the next year and feel as though it is full of promise. In the words of their Campus Correspondents, Claire and Rachel, “Denison is a small liberal arts college that supports students’ voices and [their] chapter of Her Campus reflects that in [their] writing. [They] raise awareness for issues on campus and in the world that [they] find important and want to foster a community of college women supporting women.” Some pretty lofty goals, but I know that HC Denison is capable of putting in the work and achieving them!
Speaking of HC Denison’s CCs, we want to take a moment to introduce the executive board! As I mentioned, heading the chapter are Claire Maurer and Rachel Mierzejewski. The pair are both sophomore students, with Claire studying Spanish and political science and Rachel studying environmental science and education. Not only that, but they also have a head of PR, named Zoe Smith. Zoe, also a sophomore, works on social media and recruitment for the chapter and is studying education. Zoe also has a double minor in Spanish and English literature. Lastly, the executive board is finalized with Elsie Parmar, a senior psychology major who acts as the chapter’s senior editor and events coordinator.
In addition to getting to know the members who make up the executive board of the chapter, we wanted to know more information about their chapter in general. So we asked what their favorite feature articles were from the past year. The CCs of the chapter found this to be a rather difficult question because “There are too many good ones!!” After reading the few that Rachel and Claire sent over, I agree, there are a lot of really great articles posted by HC Denison. The first one I’d like to take the time to highlight here is, “In Remembrance: The Battle Against Depression.” This article is written by Michaela Allen, and it is devastating to read. This piece is well crafted and touches upon a battle that is worth fighting. I was so heartbroken to read this piece, but it is absolutely worth the pain, as Michaela does a great job in pointing out the importance of fighting against depression.
In addition to the remembrance article, the CCs also called attention to the article, “Secretary of Education vs. Education,” which focuses on the implications of choosing someone to run an office they are not qualified to run and what they can lead to in terms of education surrounding topics that that person is against, such as mental illnesses. As we have learned, the Denison members know what those implications of untreated mental health and stigmas lead to, so hearing this in the wake of that must have been absolutely devastating. For more information, you can give their article a read, however, this isn’t something you should just brush by as unimportant when it is affecting the lives of students (and others) all across the country.
The next article the CCs focused on was a feature written by Amaya Rakes. The feature focuses on her journey to loving her natural hair and look. This piece is personal and empowering for anyone who has struggled through a similar dislike for something that is a part of them, whether it is hair or anything else. This is definitely a well written piece that deserves the attention that the CCs are calling to it.
Likewise, the CCs also pointed to another article about living green while being in college. I thought that this article was really important, and it touches on aspects of sustainability that are needed for us to continue living on this planet. It can be difficult to be eco-friendly while living on a college campus, so I loved the way this article tackled this challenge and made it more approachable to readers!
Finally, the last article Rachel and Claire mentioned was an article written by Alexis Boyages about the power of positivity. We all know that being positive can help brighten other people’s days, but when faced with situations where we could choose to be positive, people tend to lean toward pessimism. This article touches on why you should continue to be positive because spreading good news is a good thing! The Happy News and the work that they do is important, and this article does a great job highlighting that the news you hear doesn’t always have to be the worst things happening in the world. It might just be Happy News.
Moving away from articles, we wanted to learn more about what HC Denison does on campus versus behind the computer screen. We learned that HC Denison has done some tabling promotions at their school involvement fair, which helped in their mission to recruit members to their team. They also held their first group meeting recently, and a lot of members came! The meeting went so well that when we asked the CCs what their favorite memory of their chapter was, they specifically mentioned this meeting and how well it went. It was the first meeting that Rachel and Claire were able to run as CCs for the new semester, and they felt like this meeting was a great stepping stone for setting the tone of the semester. They are also looking to host a writing workshop and study table for the writers of the club to have a space to work and learn.
After the successful recruitment, HC Denison explained that they are SO excited to work on expanding their team this semester and helping foster the growth of the club. They are also working on thinking up some team bonding activities, which include things like movie nights, team dinners, writing tables, game nights, and so many others. They have also been working on article ideas in order to execute theme weeks and different series of articles in the upcoming semester.
In addition to all of the things they are looking to plan, we wanted to know what their goals for the semester are. The CCs explained that their goal is to work on flexibility in their chapter, since this is something that has caused issues in the past that they want to rectify. They work hard to produce quality content, which can affect their ability to meet the deadlines, so with the increasing numbers of members, they want to be able to use this to meet the minimum criteria for each week while giving their writers the ability to spend more time on the articles they are passionate about. They strongly believe that they “are students first and foremost so [they] want to be able to allow a skip if someone has a particularly stressful school week.”
Taking a step back and learning more about Denison in general, we wanted to know what makes Denison unique. The CCs informed us that their school is unique because of how supportive their community is. Everyone at Denison supports each other and studies in the arts are just as encouraged and valued as majors in more structured fields or other activities (like athletics or music). They love Denison because there are so many opportunities across campus where ideas can be shared and valued. In addition, when we asked what one thing the HC Denison women wanted everyone to know about their chapter, they answered: “Don’t sleep on us- we’re revamping and will come out a bigger and stronger team!” So, you heard them. Don’t sleep on them!
Finally, we asked the CCs to describe their chapter in three words. Rachel and Claire agreed that the three words they would use are hopeful, supportive, and quality. The first, hopeful, is because there are a lot of big ideas floating around at HC Denison, and even though they are a small chapter, they are hopeful that they will be able to take these ideas and manifest them into plans. Second, they chose supportive for the fact that their team is always willing to help each other out. Lastly, quality stands for the amazing writing that the chapter produces. They all work really hard to craft pieces that are going to be inspiring, deep, insightful, and exciting!
For anyone looking to transfer to Denison, we wanted to make sure that you knew how to get in contact with the HC Denison chapter! When you’re walking the buildings of Denison, keep an eye out for their posters that are all over the walls. Rachel and Claire’s emails are on those flyers, and you can take a moment to reach out to them to get involved.
Finally, if you are looking to stay up to date with all things HC Denison, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! Or, you can also catch up on all of their latest content here!
Bonus Questions:
TS: Is your chapter more cat people or dog people?
CCs: Dog people!
TS: Does your chapter identify more with beaches or lakes?
CCs: Beaches/Ocean!
TS: What time of year (semester, trimester, quarter) has the best classes to add to your schedules?
CCs: Spring semester
*ALL PHOTOS PROVIDED BY HER CAMPUS DENISON*