On loving yourself

Laura Evans ’13, Chelsie Salvatera ’14 and Kamila Berkalieva ’13 listen actively on Thursday night at “On Loving Yourself: Where Do We Go from Here?,” the concluding event of On Loving Yourself Week. On Loving Yourself Week, which lasted from Monday to Thursday, was organized by Evans, Christian Snow ’13, Clare Mao ’14, Joy Sales ’13, Seantasia Lee ’13, Amy Flores ’15 and Lily Jamaludin ’14 with women of color in mind. According to the Facebook event, “this week is about educating ourselves, bringing the conversation out in the open, building and maintaining a community, and most importantly, this week is about HEALING, something that is much needed after years of feeling like our issues have been ignored.”

Photo by Avery Rowlison

Events ranged from student discussions to a panel entitled “What’s Color Got To Do With It?,” featuring  Professors Kesho Scott, Sociology; Mervat Youssef, Arabic; Asani Seawell, Psychology and Minna Mahlab, Science Learning Center. On Thursday afternoon, Professor Osei-Kofi from Iowa State presented “Women Pushing Back: Challenging the Globalization of Western Beauty Ideals,” discussing topics ranging from the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty to various artistic works. Like the other events this week, Osei-Kofi provided a space for valuable discussions that otherwise might not have occurred on campus.