Valentine鈥檚 Day can be a polarizing holiday. Even for those who are in relationships, there鈥檚 pressure to spend money on gifts that can seem impersonal and insincere. This year, however, a group of 兔子先生传媒文化作品 students are working to make Valentine鈥檚 Day more meaningful by bringing a new campaign to campus.
Featuring the hashtag #RespectHer, the campaign was created as a passion project by several female advertising professionals鈥攊ncluding College of Media, Communication and Information alumna Brynna Aylward (AdvertSoc鈥�11), who is a copywriter at BBDO Energy in Chicago. It鈥檚 built on the idea of reframing Valentine鈥檚 Day as a time to respect women and fight for their rights and equality.
Through the campaign, people are encouraged to give their loved ones something more meaningful than chocolate, jewelry or flowers. The group鈥檚 website, , allows people to personalize a card and then donate to six selected organizations that promote women鈥檚 rights and fight issues like sexual harassment and assault.听
鈥淎fter #MeToo and #TimesUp, this is a call to action,鈥� said Alec Parezo, a senior studying strategic communication who is leading campaign efforts on campus. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time for individuals to cross that line and issue a vow of respect.鈥�
In addition to visiting the group鈥檚 website, Parezo and fellow students from departments across campus will run a pop-up shop on Valentine鈥檚 Day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the University Memorial Center. The students will pass out cards and hope to have an area where people can write about and discuss what respect for women actually looks like. They also plan to create a video of female students describing what respect means to them, as well as an art installation, Parezo said.
鈥淭he whole idea is to tell women we鈥檙e listening,鈥� he said. 鈥淩espect is about listening and being heard.鈥�