By Faith Marscio
Female-focused campus media is reaching new heights at Youngstown State University with the installment of YSU’s first chapter of Her Campus Media.
Her Campus is an online magazine for college students, targeted toward women, that originated at Harvard University in 2009. Since its start, the organization has grown to have chapters at approximately 400 college campuses across the United States, with over 11,000 contributors, according to The University of Tampa.
Vice President Angela Pell is a founding member of YSU’s chapter.
Her Campus is recognized as “the number one online magazine for college women, where [the writers] write articles and post them to the magazine,” Pell said.
The articles posted are about topics that college women, or those who fit that age demographic, would typically be interested in.
Her Campus President Rachel Durniok started the process to bring a chapter of Her Campus to YSU in spring 2021. It took the two about a year to officially have the organization registered by YSU.
“We had to go through Her Campus nationals to be approved. We had to do a writing sample and tests, and then have students sign a petition to get the chapter established here. We needed about 100 signatures, and got about 150 signatures,” Durniok said.
Durniok had the idea to bring Her Campus to YSU after being involved with a chapter at her previous university.
“I wanted to do it because of my previous involvement at West Virginia University. I liked writing the articles,” Durniok said.
The two had group members who were interested in the organization about a year ago but were not totally official as a campus organization until this past October. The fall student organization fair helped give their recruitment process the success it needed.
“Our first student [organization fair] was where we got a lot of people,” Pell said.
While Her Campus is directed toward a dynamic of women in colleges across America, Pell made it clear that anyone with a passion for writing can join the organization and said the events it holds are open to all.
Most recently, the club hosted a Galentine’s Day event in the lobby of the Enclave on campus. Additionally, Durniok also holds writing workshops for members and those who are interested in becoming members.
The group has an upcoming fundraiser, and meetings are held every other Wednesday at 7 p.m. Stay tuned to its Instagram page for more information about the organization and upcoming giveaways.
