CLA Awards for Student Groups' Hampedia Pages
Hampshire College boasts more than 95 student groups, and they play an important role in the campus community.
Last semester, Campus Leadership & Activities (CLA) ran a contest for student group Hampedia pages, highlighting the diversity of groups and students' impressive abilities to communicate, organize, create, and take action. Web content manager Amy Diehl, chief diversity officer Diana Fernandez, advanced media manager John Gunther, and CLA staff served as judges.
Many groups at Hampshire are involved in activism and display creativity in spreading their messages. Climate Justice League, which won Most Intriguing Page, works in collaboration with local, national, and international movements to transition toward a sustainable world.
Re-Rad, a CLA Choice award recipient, is an activist group that helps maintain Hampshire's mission to allow students to design their own education. The group preserves the College's alternative nature by challenging restrictive policies, spreading knowledge, and staging peaceful demonstrations.
Some groups take a different approach and convey their messages through publications. The Omen is a biweekly anthology that publishes every submission it receives. Printing all submissions can lead to controversy, but the editors are dedicated to encouraging free speech. Students are scanning every issue onto a website, which earned them the award for Best Archivists.
Shake and Bake won the award for Most Creative. The group meets weekly to read Shakespeare plays and bake desserts like "MacDeath by Chocolate" and "Apples You Like It" pies. Its members cycle through all of Shakespeare's plays every four years.
Hampshire groups are not only inventive and hard working; they also provide important support systems. Raíces, the recipient of Most Attractive Page, is a community for students interested in Latino/Latina culture and heritage. The group supports the unity of Hampshire's Latino/Latina students and encourages their engagement in campus and community activities. They also work with the SOURCE community and involve the entire Five-College area.
Active Minds, awarded Most Informative, is a strong support system for students interested in mental health issues. Members discuss symptoms, what the best resources are, and what stigmas surround the conversation on mental health.
The Queer Community Alliance (QCA) confronts important issues and serves as a community for queer, trans, gender nonconforming identities, and allies. The group is a safe space to discuss problems like homophobia, heterosexism, and gender policing, while it also builds a proud community. For their accomplishments, they received a CLA Choice award.