Following a year of increased visibility on Grounds, the University chapter of the National Organization for Women elected its 2003-2004 executive board Wednesday night in Newcomb hall.
Second-year College student Katy Shrum was selected to serve as the next NOW president. She will ascend to the post previously held by co-presidents M! Bruce and Lara Eilhardt, both third-year College students..
"We have been given so much by the executive board from last year," Shrum said.
Second-year College student Lauren Russo will serve as the new external vice president. She said she viewed her new role as a liaison between NOW and other student groups.
"My goal is to really increase the diversity of our membership," Russo said.
Annis Steiner, a second-year College student, will work alongside Russo as the NOW internal vice president. Her responsibilities include organizing events such as feminist dinners and a book club.
Over the past year, NOW updated and improved its constitution, Bruce said. Previously, there were two presidents and two vice presidents. There now is only one president and the roles of each vice president have been more clearly defined.
"This year there's been a huge change in terms of infrastructure at NOW," Russo said. "We hope that this will allow us to do more things more efficiently."
To round out the executive board, NOW members elected second-year College student Michelle Menard secretary and second-year College student Ann Sidebottom treasurer. The new executive board will take over leadership responsibilities April 4, the day after Take Back the Night, an annual rally that protests violence against women.
In addition to co-sponsoring Take Back the Night, NOW holds several events each year which support the group's goal of helping to end gender oppression, Russo said. This year, NOW sponsored Love Your Body Week, the Women's Health Festival and Women of Color Week, which began last Saturday and ends tomorrow.
The Women's Health Festival and other events have been part of a proactive effort by NOW to publicize women's issues, Bruce said.
"The two most important thing we've done is to increase our visibility and inclusiveness," she said.
Debunking the negative connotations of feminism has been part of NOW's outreach to new students, Eilhardt said.
"We've helped contribute to create a widely encompassing, more positive name for feminism," she said. "People have really opened up to redefining it in their own lives."
Building on this year's successes will be important, Shrum added.
"Mostly, I'm really looking forward to expanding the feminist community at U.Va. and throughout Charlottesville," she said. "There's no reason that every male and female student can't be a part of the National Organization for Women."
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