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Campaign College seminar promotes female political activity

Written by Johnathan Silver, The Shorthorn senior staff

Wednesday, 24 February 2010 08:20 PM

UTA will be one of only 10 universities nationwide to host a seminar promoting women in politics.

The Campaign College seminar is geared toward college women. The meeting of UTA students and people from as far as Washington, D.C. is designed to enhance attendees’ leadership skills, help run a successful campaign, and provide networking opportunities with established female politicos.

The seminar is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on March 6, in the Carlisle Suite.

Female students interested in attending the forum may sign up through the Student Congress Web site by Friday. Attendance is capped at 50. As of Wednesday afternoon, about 20 people have registered.

Spanish and psychology freshman Sydney Bay applied for the training on behalf of the university after discussing it with two officers in the Student Governance and Organizations office. She said having nationally recognized groups involved with her endeavors is an honor to the university.

“I hope it encourages or increases confidence in running a campaign and winning,” she said. “It’s very important to have as many women leadership positions as there are for men.”

The event is sponsored in part by the American Association of University Women, the American University’s Women and Politics Institute, and Running Start – all of which are national groups that push for equality in the political sphere.

Kate Farrar, AAUW’s leadership programs director, said the university was one of several campuses that applied to have the training program. UTA was chosen due to a high interest in engaging women on campus against the political gender gap.

During the seminar, she will discuss the need for more female politicians, especially young ones.

“There remains a lack of women in political office on the national, state and local level. Only one percent of people are represented by a woman under forty,” Farrar said. “And it’s not that women don’t win when they run. Not enough women are running.”

Army Maj. Jeannie Deakyne is among speakers featured in the seminar.

The former UTA Student Congress president will discuss how student government roles can lead to future opportunities. When looking at the number of female student body presidents as compared to their male counterparts, one will notice that there’s a huge disparity, she said.

“Any program that encourages young women to run for student government positions and trains them to run an effective campaign is very important,” she said. “It highlights the fact that even in the year 2010, most college campuses aren’t conducting training like this.”

Other featured speakers will include alumna and public relations manager Reace Alvarenga Smith from Texas Health Resources, SC president Kent Long, SC vice president Melanie Johnson and Lana Wolff, Arlington Mayor Pro Tempore.
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