Student Leadership Organization

The student organization, established by students in the mid 1980s, provides members with leadership opportunities and a significant voice in the program.  

As members of the WILL student organization, WILL women gain valuable experience through student committees, an elected board and involvement in the community. Students have organized successful statewide conferences, awareness campaigns and social action projects benefitting everyone from local middle school students to hurricane survivors. Below are some examples of student projects.

• Several WILL students are working to strengthen the stalking laws in the state of Virginia. Testifying on behalf of “their” bill in the General Assembly was a highlight of this experience.
• Three first-year WILL women partnered with the James River Advisory Council to help organize and promote a James River Regional Cleanup. They combined this activism with a research paper for WGSS credit about women active in the environmental movement, health risks faced by women as a result of exposure to toxins, and an examination of eco-feminism and environmental racism.
• Two WILL seniors organized a week long series of events related to domestic violence in the spring of 2008. They successfully worked with athletics, sororities and fraternities to raise awareness and encourage attendance.
• Two WILL students formed the student organization SSTOP, Students Stopping the Trafficking of People, to educate the campus on issues concerning human trafficing.
• Several WILL members worked in collaboration with other campus organizations to organize the National Day of Silence, a day that recognizes the harassment that Gay and Lesbian Students often experience on college campuses, and a Break the Silence Celebration at the day's end. 
• A group of WILL students organized and led the University’s Take Back the Night Walk, which promotes awareness of violence against women.