PLU Women Take Campus by Storm

On a cold and snowy day at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, 50 bright and enthusiastic college women braved the weather to attend the Elect Her–PLU Women Win training. A native Oregonian myself, I was not only thrilled to be back in the area, I was ecstatic to see so many fellow Pacific Northwestern women who were excited to learn more about women’s political leadership and student government on their campus.

During the first exercise of the day, these students — many of whom had already proven themselves leaders on campus — got right to work brainstorming campus issues. When we discussed these issues as a group, students found that nearly all of them shared the same concern: campus safety.

The current student government officials who attended the meeting were actually surprised by the discussion. As it turned out, the officials were not aware of these student concerns. This teachable moment demonstrated the power of student government officials to be a voice for their peers on important issues and also highlighted the importance of increased communication in order to bring these issues to the forefront.

A number of local women elected officials provided wisdom and inspiration for the students on making a difference in the community. Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy, and Puyallup, Washington, Mayor Kathy Turner echoed each other in encouraging these college women to blaze their own paths to leadership and not feel constrained to follow the traditional political pipeline that can often dampen women’s political ambitions. All three addressed the challenges that women face in running for office such as finding the courage to launch a campaign, dealing with negative attacks, and managing family and work-life balance in a highly public career. They also pointed out the sexism they had all experienced and emphasized the need for all young women to step up in spite of these adversities and find the courage to persevere.

The highlight of the day was our campaign simulation experience. It was nearing the end of a long day of training, and I could tell the crowd’s energy was waning, but students met the final challenge of campaigning for votes with impressive enthusiasm. After spending only 30 minutes running around campus collecting votes, more than half the students returned with over 50 votes each. Two teams won the day, with Katie Johnson and her campaign team collecting an incredible 94 votes and Bethany Petek and Mackenzie Landis collecting 67.

Short on neither enthusiasm nor talent, these Pacific Lutheran University students proved a force to be reckoned with. Armed with the tools and inspiration gained at the Elect Her PLU training, these young women will continue to develop their leadership both on and off campus.

This post was written by Running Start Program Director Allison Dunatchik.