Beyonce’s hit song, “Run the World” was the inspiration behind the poster theme for second place poster competition winners Vanderbilt University Empowering and Encouraging Sisterhood (VUEES.)
VUEES is a new organization to campus this year, and like the lyrics suggest in “Run the World,” VUEES is dedicated to women’s empowerment. The founder and president Kyndall Clark created the organization as an expansion of the African-American women’s group, Sister Circle, with some changes in the objectives.
VUEES was founded on the principle that “historically, women have been ignored and have not received the support and understanding necessary to develop self-love, self-esteem and self-worth. For this reason, VUESS was designed as an organization devoted to the empowerment, support and nurturance of the soul and spirit of women, cross-culturally, generationally, academically and socioeconomically.”
The mission statement of the organization incorporates these ideals into two-fold objectives: First, VUEES “aims to empower all women on the Vanderbilt campus and those in our surrounding communities” and second, VUEES “wishes to create a safe space for all women, regardless of differences, to communicate and bond with each other.”
Although VUEES has been on campus one semester, the organization has been on the rise. In honor of the tenth anniversary of September 11, VUEES partnered with Vanderbilt women’s ROTC to host an event where members discussed the accomplishments of women in the military and created care packages for the servicewomen overseas.
VUEES also participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October by developing a three-day week of activities that focused on women’s health. During the “mini-week,” VUEES presented its first annual wellness fair. At this fair, women were taught self-soothing techniques, provided with healthy foods and measured for bra fittings.
In 2012, VUEES will continue to make strides on campus through collaborations with other organizations and new monthly discussions.
To learn more about VUEES, come to the second organization fair in January. (Date to be announced.) The organization looks forward to expanding its agenda and reaching out to more women on campus. Together, we can and will develop support systems that enable us to advance to new and higher levels. After all, we girls do run the world!