The Women’s Center on campus holds many events throughout the semester to get students involved throughout the semester, which feature joining the staff and other members of the community over coffee, tea or hot chocolate. 

Events held are meant to create a sense of community between everyone who is involved in them. 

The events are a part of the Crafts, Coffee, and Community series at the Women’s Center.

An upcoming event in the series this Friday (Oct. 6) is Craftivism on Campus: Reproductive Rights Yarn Mural and the event is inspired by crafting and activism (known as craftivism).

The center is welcoming those who do and don’t know how to crochet to help create a mural for Women’s HERstory Month 2024.

The mural is inspired by one done by the artist Jen LaMastra, who created the  “Liberty Crochet Mural” that displays symbols representing women’s right to choose.

It was created after the overturning of Roe v. Wade and has been replicated by many different communities.

Ula Klein, director of the Women and Gender Studies Program on campus, helped create the idea for the project.

“I decided to pursue a yarn mural “craftivist” project since I love to crochet,” she said. “I felt that the “Freedom to Choose” mural might be too hard to do, so after talking with Maddie Wiles in the Women’s Center, we decided to do something slightly simpler.”

The project is open to everyone in the community to help create and be part of.

“We plan to have volunteers make parts of the mural from Oct. – Jan. and then stitch it all together in Feb.,” Klein said. “We plan to display the mural on campus in March for Women’s HERstory Month.”

Klein said the first event is a start and will include planning the mural.

“We’ll be choosing the slogan for the mural, deciding on colors, and teaching people who don’t know how to crochet, how to crochet,” she said. 

The kick-off event is Friday, Oct. 6 from 2-4 p.m. at the Women’s Center in the Campus Center for Equity and Diversity (717 W. Irving Ave.).

For more information check out the events page here: uwosh.edu/womenscenter/events/.