Students at Camas High School (CHS) recently brought back a club: Supporting Women Around the Globe (SWAG). SWAG was previously at CHS, but after merging with the Interact club, SWAG lost much of its core focus. For many members, this change was unanticipated.
(Courtesy of their instagram account camashs_swag)
“I just stopped getting invited to meetings,” CHS senior Ellie Nell said. “I later found out that [the club] had disbanded.”
Although the club was disbanded unexpectedly, students at CHS as well as previous members of the club are excited for the return.
“I was looking back at the form with all the clubs on it and it said that [SWAG] was disbanded,” Cadence Maxwell said. “We wanted to start a club and it would be a fun way to bring back something that we used to have that was a good way for girls to get together.”
Although the club is not new to CHS, they have many new attributes, one of which is a new adviser, Kristie Stevens, AP Psychology and junior English teacher.
“I think it’s always good for women to have a space where they can feel empowered and have agency,” Stevens said. “I think that any public space or institution could benefit from that.”
This year, the SWAG club has many new potential plans for what they could do to support women in CHS.
“As of right now, we want to go to women’s sporting events for the school,” senior Juliette Murrow said.
“We feel like, as a club, that women’s sports don’t get appreciated as much as men’s, but everyone should be watching women’s sports,” senior Sarah Oulman said.
In the future, the SWAG club would also like to incorporate new activities, such as volunteer work and fundraising efforts focused on supporting women, among other potential events.
“This year, maybe we could do a really big donation or like a super fun event that everyone can come to, kind of like flag football,” Oulman said. “Not even just women could come, we can bring everyone together to support them.”
During the club’s first meeting on October 15, officers curated an Instagram account, a Google Classroom, and a to-do list for the near future. The new Instagram account features a flyer for the club with their classroom code and other important meeting information.
“[The flyer] is supposed to show that it’s a club for everyone,” Maxwell said. “It’s obviously for feminism, but men can still be feminists, everyone can join.”
The ultimate goal of the club is to bring a supportive and positive environment for women in CHS while bringing all genders together to help make it happen. Those interested in joining the club can attend a meeting on Nov. 19 in room 114.
