Her Campus, an online magazine that serves as a collegiate guide for college women, has made its way to the University of Tampa.
The website covers over 500 schools, and all of the writers are college women. There are seven different categories including news, events, a photo style blog and other pages where certain people are featured for falling under descriptions like beauty, health, love or career.
One of the sections is called “Campus Cutie,” where a good-looking student is presented. Another section called “Campus Celebrity,” features different students who are very involved around campus. There is also a category where the writers can blog about anything that they believe will interest students.
“I think it’s such a cool way to express yourself,” said Jordan Sypek, a junior marketing major and also one of the members who helped create the chapter at UT last semester.
One of the website’s most popular pieces “9 Signs You Go to UT” written by Sypek, had thousands of views and emphasized relatable endeavors like students skipping class when it rains or that the only time all year students are awake before 8 a.m. is on Gasparilla.
The “9 Signs You Go to UT” was the top story for Her Campus UT until last week, when UT’s “Campus Cutie” page, featuring junior and government world affairs major Zack Scott, received over 3,000 views in the first four days after being published.
“I love the social aspect of the club and seeing how many people actually read and look at the articles,” said Her Campus writer Bari Markowitz, a junior marketing major. “[Students] can find out news about our school, what’s going on in the world and events that’s happening on our campus.”
The organization of about 17 writers at the school was recently approved by O.S.L.E. this semester to become an official club on campus. They meet every Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Macdonald-Kelce Library in room AB2.
The meetings typically include brainstorming event and content ideas, and all of the articles are planned and posted two weeks in advance. “We did our Valentine’s Day articles for this week two weeks ago, and then we brainstormed this past week for next week’s content,” said Kailee Baylor, junior advertising major and founder of Her Campus UT.
Their Valentine’s Day articles include “Valentine’s Day: Girls’ Expectation vs. Guys’ Reality,” and “How to Have the Best Galentine’s Day Ever.”
The girls are all passionate about writing, which creates an exciting environment for the club.
The generic Her Campus website was launched in 2009 by three undergraduate
women at Harvard University. Since then, the website has expanded to schools all over the country, and the company recently bought the British version of Her Campus. Now the magazine includes all of the UK chapters as well.
The idea to create Her Campus UT came to Baylor after she transferred to UT last spring. “I was just looking for something to join, and I had applied to a lot of the advertising organizations but none of them seemed to be up and running,” said Baylor. “I read Her Campus, so I just thought we could start a chapter of our own.”
Sypek says the UT website is unique in that it has a very diverse group of writers. “I really like how I’ve been able to meet people from everywhere,” she said. “Everyone is so different.”
The club members met with the Her Campus organization at the University of South Florida last Saturday, who were mostly mass communication majors. Her Campus UT members range from English to marketing majors and include students who are in sororities on sports teams and two international students. Sypek and Baylor believe this helps the club gain fresh ideas from a variety of perspectives.
The website staff is expected to expand throughout the year, and Sypek said they are always looking for new members. They will be tabling in Vaughn this Friday to promote both viewers and writers for Her Campus.
“We are always looking for new members,” Sypek said. “We’re excited to see what the semester will bring for us.”
Kirby Jay can be reached at kirby.jay@ spartans.ut.edu