"I'm a feminist, not a feminazi," explained 21-year-old senior English major Elizabeth Chassey (known around campus as Liz). Chassey, who is very involved on campus, has been using her time at Longwood to get involved and explore her interests in equality and diversity, among other things.
Chassey graduated from Prince Edward High School here in Farmville and took classes at Hampden-Sydney College (HSC) through a program at her school. She said it was very nerve- racking to be a high school girl in an all-male college environment.
One of Chassey's most prideful moments came from her time at HSC. She entered a contest to submit an essay from her rhetoric class and ended up beating out every other candidate to win the contest.
She originally wanted to go to a school other than Longwood to branch out, but ended up changing her mind, and she says it was the right choice for her. "After I got accepted I realized that I really love it here, and it is perfect for me," said Chassey.
Chassey was raised in a student affairs environment. She was a dorm baby, spending the first two-and-a-half years of her life in a residence hall at the University of North Carolina where her father worked. Her family moved to another school in North Carolina, then to one in Illinois and landed in Farmville eight years ago. Chassey's mother is originally from the area. Chassey has become more attracted to student life at the college level and has used opportunities at Longwood to explore the field as well. During her time at the university, Chassey has served as a resident assistant (RA). She was initially attracted to the position because she felt like it would be something she would enjoy and would be good at. "I love being able to interact with people and help people every single day," she said.
Chassey recently held a body image workshop on campus as part of the celebration of Women's History Month in March. Chassey was originally placed in ARC Residence Hall as an RA and held a body image workshop for her residents. Her event had success and she presented it in her Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies class as well as at an RA conference.
Chassey explained the program has grown from where it first was. "I've learned the value of research, so instead of just talking about it. I've added some research and data," said Chassey. One of the changes she made as it progressed was to include more details about men since men are oppressed by the media's view as well.
Overall, Chassey has found Longwood students seem to struggle the most with weight and body shape and size. One of the statistics Chassey found was that models are on average thinner than 98 percent of women. "Only two percent can reach that weight, but we are all expected to look like that," she explained. She went on to say "There is no such thing as normal when you talk about bodies. Most people won't be able to reach that point, and that's okay."
Chassey also serves as a Judicial Board justice, and she feels that is another branch of student affairs that gives her more experience for her hopeful future. She also felt it was a unique to Long- wood due to the fact a student-run judicial board is rare at a college, and she felt it was a valuable experience.
Of all her commitments, Chassey's favorite part of Longwood is her involvement on the Student Diversity and Inclusion Council. She was initially interested in the council to explore her interests of diversity and inclusion even more. "I thought it would be a really good outlet for me to promote equality even more because I've always wanted to be an activist of sorts," said Chassey. One of Chassey's biggest passions is women's
equality and women's issues. She recently traveled to Richmond, Va. to protest against legislation im- pacting women's reproductive rights. "That was a really big thing for me because it showed me just how active I can be and how easy it is to really go out there and do something. I leaned how much of an impact one person can have," said Chassey. She encouraged all students to get involved with their passion as well. "If you take it upon yourself, you really can do it," she explained.
She says she hopes to get as involved in fight- ing for LGBT rights as she has been for women's rights. Chassey explained the drive that keeps her going every day is the fact that she loves people. "I absolutely love people and interacting with them and learning from them and - if they need me to - helping them," she said.
Chassey is engaged to fellow Lancer James Early, and the two plan to get married as soon as they logistically can. In the mean time, Chassey plans to go to graduate school to obtain a Master's Degree in student affairs. "I originally wanted to be an English teacher, but after I became an RA I realized how much I loved it, and it was perfect for me.
I basically want to be a grown up RA," Chassey explained.
As a last piece of advice to fellow Longwood students, Chassey said to take chances and get involved. "That's how I did it. I've really gotten to know myself better over the last couple years since I became an RA and got involved in stuff that I was a little bit interested in."
