There are several clubs and organizations on the Utica University campus available to students. Women in a New Direction (WIND) is one such organization that is looking to reestablish itself on campus after COVID-19 put a pause on its activities.

This organization was started in 2001 and run by a variety of women on campus. WIND’s goal is to spread knowledge about issues and obstacles we face as a society, including obstacles such as racial injustice and concerns about gender and women’s rights.

In 2022, WIND currently has five to six members. The members of WIND are working together to put this club back on the map and bring women together on campus at Utica University.

WIND member Tegan Lewis said that the organization promotes advocacy as a sisterhood on campus.

“It’s a sisterhood, a place for women and non-binary feminine people to have a social space,” Lewis said. “In case of club work, we doing feminist programming, we are determined to solve racial injustice to the best of our ability, promoting gender equity and doing the important on-the-ground work. Creating a social capacity for open conversations, bonding time and providing emotional support.”

On PioHub, Women in a New Direction can be located under the organizations tab with information about their goals. Their meetings are held every Sunday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the Boehlert Hall Conference Room near Edward and Jean Duffy Plaza on campus or via Zoom.

“We are bringing back an event the club did in the 2000s called a FishBowl, which is a lot of conversational, hot topics in a big glass bowl,” Lewis said. “Historically, this event has been men answering with women– the objective of the event is to break down the gender barriers, having anyone answer a question of their choosing.”

According to Lewis, WIND is trying to take past events and modernize them, including the Fishbowl event.

“A hot topic for relationships such as: is it still cheating if your partner still has Tinder downloaded? How do you feel if your partner has an intimate friend of the opposite gender?” Lewis said. “It’s going to be moderated, controlled setting, set ground rules to prevent people from having homophobic and racial remarks and we going to stress to others to start opinions with ‘I think’ to have a nice conversation.”

For more information and any upcoming events, find Women in a new direction on Instagram @wind.utica. Students can find WIND on their PioHub and reach out if they are interested in joining.