Empowering Diverse Voices On Campus

Editor’s Note: This is the final story in a series dedicated to commemorating Women’s History Month at UTRGV.

Senate Bill 17 is the anti-DEI law that requires higher education institutions to close their diversity, equity and inclusion centers. The bill went into effect Jan. 1.

This has brought the opportunity for the student organizations to promote initiatives related to culture, identity, pride, and empowerment. 

The Intersectional Feminist Student Organization (@ifso.utrgv), leads initiatives related to female reproductive rights, women’s empowerment, and visibility of LGBTQ+ communities.

“Getting our sexuality and who we are out there is risky and scary in Texas, even more now that we do not have the DEI offices to protect us,” IFSO Event Coordinator and Interim Vice President, Cindy Ruiz said. 

Ruiz said they have the backs of women and other minority communities on campus that have since felt underappreciated. Despite risks, she said that as activists, IFSO members will do what they can, no matter what the outcome is.  

Other than the representation and fight for visibility from student organizations such as IFSO and Texas Rising, there are major-specific organizations dedicated to women’s success in traditionally male-dominateod fields such as science, law enforcement, medicine and engineering. 

The mission of Women in STEM Programs (@wisp.utrgv) is to create welcoming spaces to empower diverse voices through conversations related to the barriers faced by women in all STEM fields. 

“Women hold half of science and engineering degrees but only half of us are getting a job,” WISP Vice President Kristen Sallas said.

WISP President, Stephanie Cano, encourages women to not be afraid of pursuing their passion in STEM related disciplines. 

“Keep going,” Cano said. “Everybody will be behind you. You will have an army of women that are going to be cheering you on.”

In commemoration of Women’s History Month, Hallas and Cano said that this month is for women to be seen, heard and to recognize how far they have come. They also regard the month of March as a call to action of how much more there is to be done to reach women’s equity. 

“Usually, people say you want to marry the [medical] or engineering student,” Cano said. “But it’s like, ‘No, I want to be that student. Why are you limiting me?’”

Another student organization, the American Association of Women Podiatrists (@utrgvaawp) at UTRGV’s School of Podriatic Medicine, is dedicated to educate and empower women from all kinds of backgrounds to thrive and be successful in the podiatry field. 

According to AAWP Vice President, Katherine Castillo, the podiatry field has been very male dominated especially because of its close relationship with orthopedics, which is known as the “boys club.” 

“At one point, there was a woman who was in a classroom with all men,” Castillo said. 

“[Now], we sit in our classroom with about 50% of women.” 

She said times are changing and the field is becoming more welcoming to female doctors, as others have paved the way for them. 

“I look up to our female faculty at SOPM,” Serena Markose, AAWP president said. “They take up so many roles; they are a teacher, mother, surgeon, and a wife. I do not know how they do it. They are so inspiring.”

Pulse magazine reached out to Women in Law Enforcement, the Society of Women Engineers, Delight Ministries, and Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority. As of press time, they did not respond. For more information on their mission and impact, visit V-link. 

Inspiring faculty members are also advocating for women’s empowerment on and off campus. 

At the 2024 Hispanic Women Making History award ceremony, eight latinas were recognized for their contributions and commitment to promote women’s empowerment and excellence by becoming trailblazers for future generations, according to its website.

Amongst the awardees was Dr. Sylvia Robles, assistant professor of practice in the UTRGV Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, who was recognized for her role as an advocate, entrepreneur, researcher and innovator for sustainability and innovation. 

Her project “Adopt A Startup” and other mentorship endeavors have empowered the next generation of young leaders in business at UTRGV, according to the Office for Sustainability’s website.

The Gender and Women’s Studies Program is hosting their ‘Spring Speaker’s Series’ for this semester. Coordinator Cathryn Merla-Watson said they typically invite two to four speakers to present their research related to women’s history. 

For this year’s series, Assistant Professor of the UTRGV history department, Carolina Monsivais, led the first talk on March 21. She spoke about women’s involvement in vice related cases during the United State’s Prohibition period. 

Furthermore, Merla-Watson said GWSP invited Adriana Santos, an assistant professor at Texas A&M University, San Antonio. Santos will be presenting her research in Chicana literature related to gender violence and generational trauma in April.

For more information on GWSP events, resources and faculty members visit “UTRGV Gender and Women’s Studies Program” on Facebook

Hallas said the students’ immediate role models are the faculty members that were once the first women in the room to now pave the way for future generations of female leaders to take up more space.