After a period of inactivity, Iota Iota Iota (Triota), the National Honor Society for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), has been reinstated at Augustana. The society held its first open discussion, branded “WGSS Circle Chat,” on Thursday, Nov. 6, in Old Main 303.
With juniors Morin Windle as president and Keela Sawyer as vice president, Triota aims to promote intersectional feminist principles on campus and raise awareness of the WGSS program.
Plans for the new chapter of Triota were laid by graduating seniors at the end of the 2024-25 school year. Windle said that although demand for the group was present, a leadership team proved difficult to assemble.
At the beginning of this school year, Triota’s faculty advisor and chair of the WGSS program, Kiki Kosnick, put together a new executive board, with WGSS major Windle as president. One of Windle’s first acts has been establishing the “WGSS Circle Chat” series. Open to the entire student body, the first chat was a discussion of the Pink Tax, a common phenomenon in which products marketed to women are often priced higher than those marketed to men.
Windle said open and honest discussion spaces have been instrumental to her understanding of WGSS, and she felt that such a space without the pressures of the classroom would be beneficial to the Augustana community. Circle Chats are meant as a safe space for new ideas, she said.
“Anyone who’s willing to be respectful and open to new perspectives is welcome here,” Windle said. “WGSS is not a ‘radical, overopinionated field.’ We have civil debate and are there for each other as students.”
Vice President Sawyer said they were drawn to Augustana because of its strong WGSS program. Like many other WGSS majors, they are studying many majors such as in Public Health, SOAN, and WGSS with a minor in Disability Studies.
Sawyer said WGSS is one of the most intersectional and applicable programs on campus, since it dives into history, art, STEM and more. They said they see Triota as “the heartbeat of WGSS” and envision the society as a hub of activists and learners who gather to discuss and grow together.
“[Triota will be] an involved community of people who are passionate about making the world a better place and talking about things that we’ve been told are better left unsaid,” Sawyer said.
WGSS students have already made indelible impacts on the Augustana community through groups advocating for accessible sexual education and wellness, like Hey Jane(y) and Co. and A4RJ (Augustana for Reproductive Justice).
Senior Sarah Welker, co-founder of A4RJ, said that, although WGSS is still not an official department at Augustana, a fact criticized by Welker and other students, Triota is important for the ethos of the program. Welker said the reinstatement feels like a reward for the hard work and activism students have been putting in.
“Triota shows students that [WGSS] is important and that we are not sweeping it under the rug,” Welker said. “You deserve recognition for it and a place to come together and talk about things that are important to you. Triota brings awareness, pride and acknowledgement to WGSS.”
Triota, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and Omicron Sign Omicron (OZO) are co-hosting a Transgender Day of Remembrance Banquet on Nov. 20th from 6-8 p.m. in the Gavle rooms.
