Social event reverses gender roles, raises money for cancer research
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness month, the Carolina Women’s Community and the Minority Assistance Peer Program hosted their first Sadie Hawkins Dance in the courtyard of the Women’s Quad.
Girls decked out in their finest party dresses grooved under the spotlight in front of Sims for one cause: female empowerment. The classic event started as a simple idea.
“The RMs in the Women’s Quad wanted to have a throwback dance,” said Megan Jelley, an resident hall director. “We wanted to do something fun that could also help raise money for breast cancer research.”
The CWC collaborated with the Community Education Team to make the idea a reality.
The Sadie Hawkins dances, which reverses traditional gender roles by having women invite men to participate, are seen as a stepping stone for women’s rights. For this reason, the CWC thought it would make the perfect theme for the event.
“Our goal is to have the female community feel some type of empowerment as well as unity,” Jelley said.
One of the CWC’s goals is to bring the ladies together as a community and make a difference, not only in the USC community but in Columbia as well.
“We want the girls to feel empowered through one another and do something great. We also want to have fun,” said third-year visual communications student Alli Quattlebuam.
The event also gave the ladies in the Women’s Quad a chance to mingle.
“I live in McClintock and I never really met any of the other girls [in the other dorms],” said first-year retail student Hayley Wilder. “It’s good to meet them and raise money at the same time.”