Every year, the Elliott Student Union hosts an event meant to empower women and put their voices in the spotlight. The event is called PULSE-W, which stands for Positive, Understanding, Learning, Supportive, and Encouragement. This year, the event was held on March 27 from 5-7 p.m. in the Elliott Student Union Atrium. It was attended by a small gathering of students and staff of all different backgrounds. There was free food and drink with a few activities scattered about. Attendees also came together to listen to poetry read aloud by local artist Brittane Curry.
Stephanie Rogers, the Elliott Student Union Marketing and Communications Manager, spoke to the importance of this event. She stressed the importance of amplifying the voices of women.
“Especially in today’s climate, empowering women and making sure that women’s voices are heard is really important, especially right now,” Rogers said. “I feel like a lot of people kind of shy away from these types of topics and will be like ‘Oh, let’s not talk about women’s rights, let’s just push it to the side.’”
According to Rogers, holding this event in the middle of the Elliott Student Union and having empowering poetry performed live forces women’s voices to be heard. She also brought up a very important quote for her, said by Michelle Obama.
“There is no limit to what we as women can accomplish,” Rogers said. “And I loved that idea that if we all work together, we can accomplish something awesome for the community.”
Brittane Curry, a University of Central Missouri alumna, was invited as a guest speaker to share her poetry and send a message of compassion and empowerment. She finds fostering a supportive environment for all students is highly important and spoke to how she became a supportive figure on campus while she lived here by sitting in the lobby of South Yeater and being available for anyone who needed help.
“I did that for two years straight… I just sat there and I would do my homework, I would play games, just so if they didn’t feel safe at UCM, they could feel safe with me… I wanted to be everyone’s home away from home,” Curry said.
Curry also played an integral role in the foundation of this event back in 2020. She spoke at previous PULSE-W events and described the atmosphere of the event.
“It’s just being in a space like that, where there’s so much love and so much positivity, and everybody’s complementing one another and girls are lifting up girls… It was a lot, but it was great,” Curry said.
UCM partnered with and accepted donations for Survival House, a local charity focused on supporting victims of sexual violence by providing shelter and outreach services to uplift survivors. The charity aims to reduce the frequency and tolerance of domestic and sexual violence. Kaycee Luna, Associate Director of Survival House, urges all those who are able to do what they can to support our local charities during these uneasy times.
“With the ways our economy is going, we need to support our local nonprofits… The more local support we get, the less we have to rely on grants to ensure our clients are taken care of,” said Luna.
Luna believes that community outreach and collective action is very important and encourages all people of all backgrounds to come together for those in need.
“So many people think that just small things can save the world. I wish it was that true. Our world needs the support of a community … we need people of color involved, we need queer people in the movement … That is why it is so important to volunteer where you can, support when you can and donate when it works for you.”
