In 2012, Allie Curtis became the first woman Student Association president in five years. During her campaign and presidency, Curtis experienced a level of sexism that surprised her.

“There were a lot of things I had experienced from the time I was a candidate through my presidency of blatant sexism against women in this kind of field,” Curtis said. “I didn’t think that would be the case at our level and with our generation but there were very, very blatant public incidences of sexism against me.”

To combat this sexism as well as to increase women’s roles in student government and leadership positions, Curtis brought the “Elect Her” workshop to Syracuse University last year. Now in its second year, the “Elect Her” workshop will take place this Saturday at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center.

A joint effort by Running Start, the American Association of University Women and She Should Run, “Elect Her” is a nationwide campaign intended to increase women’s roles in student government and to encourage women to pursue a future in political office.

The seminar, which will be similar to the one held last spring, is a four-and-a-half hour long leadership session featuring Jean Kessner and Kathleen Joy, both councilwomen in the Syracuse Common Council. Kate Farrar, a Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs 2004 graduate and current vice president of campus engagement at AAUW, is one of the people in charge of “Elect Her” and will also speak at the event. Saturday’s workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Sheraton.

“There’s still a lot of momentum that we’re feeding on from the last ‘Elect Her,’” Curtis said. “We have also had interest from students from other campuses.”

To have “Elect Her” come to SU, Curtis and Adrianna Kam, a senior education major, received a Fast Forward grant from the university that gave them $1,500. Curtis said she doesn’t expect the program to exceed that amount, but that the grant was necessary because AAUW cut the funding for “Elect Her.”

Last year’s event had 75 participants, Curtis said. Though the first event was successful, Curtis said she knew there needed to be more done to engage women involved in leadership.

Kam helped Curtis organize the event last year and took on more responsibilities this year. She said there have been about 55 sign-ups as of Tuesday, but added that the event will welcome everybody.

“Just because it’s a women’s issue doesn’t mean it’s not a men’s issue as well,” she said, adding that it’s important for men and women to work together for real change to occur.

The guest speakers are all prominent women and have plenty of experience to pass on to the next generation of women leaders. Joy, one of the Syracuse Common Council councilwomen and guest speaker, said she is excited to attend “Elect Her.” She said in an email that she was honored to be asked to speak at the event.

Joy said her message to the attendees relates to something Madeleine Albright once said.

“’Some people seek power to have power while some people seek power to do something with it.’ I urge all the participants this weekend will seek the latter,” she said.

Curtis and Kam both expressed a desire to see the event’s message spread beyond the SU campus. Kam said she looks at “Elect Her” as an opportunity to develop women leaders earlier than just in college.

“Someday I would really like to see this program go out to the local school districts in Syracuse where we really need this help,” she said.

Curtis said that her short-term goal for “Elect Her” is to encourage women to be more active in student government, and also for women to understand that they have the capabilities to pursue leadership positions in whichever field they choose.

Said Curtis: “It’s really great if others can look to Syracuse and see Syracuse University as a leader for aiding women in leadership positions.”

Published on November 13, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Danny: dmantoot@syr.edu