Football, barbecue, and the color red — these are a few things that we stereotypically associate with the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. But on February 12 at the Elect Her–Campus Women Win event, 40 UA women faced the stereotypes they held about student government, public office, and their roles as campus leaders.
At UA, women make up 53 percent of the student body but only 26 percent of the executive positions in the UA Student Government Association (SGA). But this year C. Nancy Hogan, who attended the training, is running for SGA president. If she wins, she will be the first African American woman SGA president in the university’s history.
Elect Her Committee
Elect Her is at UA due to the leadership efforts of several UA Women Leaders in Action. After attending the National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, they applied to bring the Elect Her program to their school. Five months later, these students inspired a new group of women to run for student offices and beyond.
AAUW of Alabama President JoAnn Cummings and League of Women Voters of Greater Tuscaloosa member Kathy Byrd attended the training to show their support and share more information about their statewide and local activities.
As a part of the first training exercises, the students had to reflect on and share the campus issues that they are passionate about changing. Hot topics included race relations, public transportation, and freshman class requirements. But it was when they heard from Mountain Brook City Councilwoman Amy Carter that they saw a real-life example of how to step up and make change in their community.
Kathy Byrd and Jo Ann Cummings
Carter never thought of herself as a public official, having been a stay-at-home mom for years. It took several friends asking her to run for her to really think about being a candidate. Carter told the UA women that they would be successful in politics if they are genuine and accessible to voters. She also shared one of her campaign strategies to connect with the voters: In the hot Alabama weather, she and her campaign volunteers handed out small water bottles with her name on them to families in the carpool lines at schools. What a great example of generating visibility where the voters are!
After the students practiced their elevator speeches, the Elect Her campaign simulation began, with the women running across campus for 30 minutes to collect “votes.” Crystalline Jones won the simulation by just one vote over Amanda Sams. Jones is a current SGA senator who plans to run for Birmingham City Council after she graduates. After the training, Jones offered to guide Sams on her first campaign for SGA. What great leadership mentoring in action!
This post was written by AAUW Director of Leadership Programs Kate C. Farrar.
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