This Friday marked the annual Women’s Coffeehouse sponsored by various members of the APU community, including LASA and APASO. The event took place on Cougar Walk at 8:30 p.m. and was emceed by seniors Matt Atha and Daniella Castaneda.
David Corning PHOTO
Senior athletic training major Kyle Simkovich really appreciated the event. “I think that it’s really important to address women’s issues. I know there were a lot of women in attendance, but I hope that the men out there will be better able to address how to treat women well,” he said.
Simkovich also enjoyed the outdoor atmosphere, which was different from last year’s event in the Cougar Dome. Tea lights strung up all around Cougar Walk gave the walkway an appealing makeover. Fire pits set up throughout the seating area gave warmth to the students sitting in the cold.
Senior pre-med student Nicole Annan said that although the atmosphere was pretty, the event was too long for her. “It was nearly three hours long! I really loved the poetry and songs but it was hard to stay the entire time because of all the homework I have,” she said.
Annan also noted that sometimes the schedule seemed to be confusing, as acts occasionally did not know when they were performing. However she did not think that it hindered the overall event, and she praised the spoken word in particular. “I really felt like a lot of the material really spoke to me. These girls deal with a lot of the same things I’ve dealt with and it really helped me along in my own struggles to hear I wasn’t alone,” she said.
The event also coincided with Preview Weekend, giving visiting high school students a chance to see a different side of APU. Many with wristbands identifying them as preview students were in attendance. “I was really impressed with the passion behind all the speakers. I could tell they were excited to share their material with the crowd,” said Rachel Clark, a senior at Kings Academy high school in Seattle.
The event started with a large crowd that remained throughout most of the night. However, once the event passed the two-hour mark, people started leaving in groups. By the end of the night, only half the seats were filled, but the applause for the last act was noticeable.
This year’s Women’s Coffeehouse was a culmination of tears and smiles, but it brought to life the struggles and triumphs of the women in this community.