Hope Untz

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ARLINGTON, Texas – On April 17, the University of Texas at Arlington’s Women’s

and Gender Studies program hosted a Silent Disco to bring awareness of the program to students.

As part of a public relations campaign’s class, students under professor Shelley Wigley

worked with the program to plan and work the event.

“We came up with the silent disco in coloration with the Day of Silent,” Chelsea McCall,

a student worker, said. “Our event is to celebrate the community (LGBTQ) rather than

recognizing the oppression.

The Day of Silence was on April 12.

The Day of Silence “is a student-led national event where folks take a vow of silence to

highlight the silencing and erasure of LGBTQ people at school,” according to the Gay, Lesbian

& Straight Education Network website. Students are then encouraged to break the silence and

rally together.

The event was broken down into different booths. “We have a hands of empowerment

tree where someone can go and write a short statement and put it on the tree,” McCall said.

“We have information on courses that they can found out how they can be about the

women’s and gender studies department and how it fits into their majors. We have the dance

floor where they can do a boomarge,” she continued.

After visiting a station, attendee would receive a sticker on a small piece of paper. After

receiving three stickers, the attendees could exchange their piece of paper for pizza and tea.

“I think one of the coolest things we have is our Women is Not a Gender Change Our

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Hope Untz
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Mind booth,” McCall said. At this station, attendees discussed a name change for the minor.

“People have been saying that women is a gender so it shouldn’t be included in the

program name. Or that having women in the title makes it seem like women are more of a

priority focus then having anything else in the program,” Samone Franklin said.

“That’s been the main agreement. Most people don’t think it should be included. We

have had a lot of people saying it should be changed to gender and sexuality studies,” Franklin

continued. Franklin was one of the three students running the table.

Franklin said if a name change is decided it will take approximately two years for the

change to be effective.

“The women’s studies minor entails different things not just particular towards women

but towards humans in general and sexuality and gender studies as a whole. Just to learn more

about society, psychology and sociology,” Rikki Segura, a student worker, said.

“The program is built from different departments coming together. So, you could take a

psychology class that’s focused on gender sexuality studies. Some of the classes are listed under

WOMS,” McCall said.

Though Segura is not a women and gender studies minor and is graduating this May, she

said that she has taken the women’s health class online through the program. “This class is

geared more towards women and you get to learn more about yourself and your body as a

woman,” Segura said.

 “I have personal health goals so this class helped me get my health goals in line and learn

what is toxic for my body and what is healthy for my body,” Segura said.

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