Riveting Rosie: The Social Progress Club

Frostburg State University has an absolute outpouring of clubs and organizations. From Greek Life to the Black Student Alliance; from Students for Women’s Issues to the Super Smash Brothers Club. This semester, one of the newly founded clubs is the Social Progress Club. The SPC was founded by junior Hailey Jo McDonald and her partner, Noah Jones. “There are clubs that talk about issues and address them, but we really wanted to start something that was centered on activism,” McDonald said.

According to the group’s mission statement, the SPC is “an organization committed to activism and rational progressivism in service to our community, the general well-being and equality of all people.” While the group discusses many issues at their weekly meetings, they are currently focused on the issues of women and people of color. “It’s really something anyone can get involved in and bring their own interests to,” McDonald explained.

McDonald is currently serving as the group’s president, while Jones is serving as both the Treasurer and the Judge. Other inaugural members make up the rest of the board: Latisha Lewis as Vice President, Ryann Elery as Secretary, and Benhamin Mann as PR representative.

So far this semester, this new group has hosted a snickerdoodle bake sale in the Lane center to raise money to fund their upcoming projects. Upcoming this year, the Social Progress Club has partnered with Students for Women’s Issues to host a SlutWalk at the end of October. SlutWalks have become popular in the last few years as a response to rape culture, slut shaming, and victim blaming. Most recently in the news, former stripper and current hip-hop artist, model, and spouse of rapper Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose, hosted a large scale SlutWalk in California.

The SPC will also have a table set up in Lane Center the week before Halloween to talk to students about cultural appropriation in Halloween costumes. The group also hopes to host a religious tolerance forum in December and a gay pride event next semester.

McDonald wants to encourage more people to get involved in the group. “While we are an activist group,” McDonald said, “our weekly meetings have a lot of discussions, so anyone can come by and just learn if they don’t want to participate.” The group meets on Wednesdays, usually at 7pm, but the location often changes. McDonald and Jones encourage anyone who is interested to find the group on Facebook here.