Roger Williams University kicked off HEART Fest on Thursday, April 23, with a Feminist Rhetorics presentation that turned student projects into conversations about identity, representation, and women’s rights.
The event featured students sharing their final digital projects for a Feminist Rhetorics class. Instead of traditional class presentations, students created websites and visual presentations about topics connected to feminism and everyday life.
The projects covered a wide range of ideas, including body positivity, women’s health, abortion rights, music, sports, literature, fashion, and identity.
One project focused on how women are judged for what they wear or how their bodies look. The presentation included the message that clothes are made to fit people, not make people feel bad about themselves.
Another project centered on women’s health and abortion rights, using the phrase, “Women’s health is everyone’s problem.” The project encouraged people to think more seriously about how women’s health is talked about and treated.
Other students explored feminism through music, sports, and literature. Their projects showed that feminism does not only exist in politics or protests. It can also be seen in songs, books, athletes, clothing, and the way people choose to express themselves.
Several projects focused on identity and personal style. Students used photos, quotes, and personal stories to show how people are often judged before they are understood. One project explored what it means to be goth, Black, and feminist, while another looked at how someone’s appearance can make strangers view them as scary or different.
The event stood out because it did not feel like a typical class presentation. The projects used color, images, quotes, and personal details, making each one feel different and personal. The creativity of the projects helped make larger topics easier to understand by connecting them to real-life experiences.
HEART Fest was a campus event that celebrated the humanities, education, and the arts. The Feminist Rhetorics presentation showed how classroom work can become part of a larger conversation about culture, rights, and representation.
By Roslyn Iaderosa