Her Campus: words from women writers

Chapman’s Her Campus chapter awoke from a period of dormancy with the help of senior screenwriting major Julianna Mitchell. DANIEL PEARSON, Staff Photographer

There were countless things to do during quarantine: binge watch movies, eat, sleep, clean...but that didn’t prevent boredom from creeping in. Quarantine was different for everyone, including Julianna Mitchell, who decided to put her energy towards the skill most dear to her: writing.

Her Campus is a nation-wide magazine catered to college women that was established in 2009 by three Harvard women — Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, Annie Wang and Windsor Hanger Western. The publication became so popular that other campuses decided to start their own chapters and is ranked as the No. 1 media portfolio for college women and Gen Z. Now, Chapman, too, has its very own chapter, but this hasn't always been the case.  

Chapman’s chapter of Her Campus would have remained dormant if it hadn't been for Julianna Mitchell, a senior screenwriting major, who resurrected it in July 2020. She originally discovered Her Campus as a senior in high school when she was seeking advice about a long distance relationship. She immediately fell in love with the publication because of its helpful articles covering culture, style and wellness for young women. When Mitchell herself became a college student, Her Campus proved difficult to find. 

“Quarantine happened, and I was like ‘Damn, I really want to create Chapman’s own Her Campus Chapter,’ so I looked and they actually had one, but it was dormant,” Mitchell said. “I had to go through all the steps to reapply for a new chapter.”

Mitchell explained in depth that what makes Her Campus so unique from other publications is that all the writers are women. Despite this, Her Campus is not meant solely for women-readers. 

“I would hope for it to be for everybody,” Mitchell said. “Even though it’s ‘Her’ Campus, it’s not just for women — I feel like it offers a female perspective, which is super important and different from other publications that we have on campus.”

Abby Haralson, a senior screen acting major, has been interested in writing since a very young age. She even sent fan fiction about the Percy Jackson series to Rick Riordan, who encouraged her to “be a young creative.” She has taken his advice and continued on her writing journey by working at Her Campus, which includes her very first published work.

“I’m not submitting it for people to tell me I’m amazing or tell me I’m a great writer or tell me I’m not,” Haralson said. “I’m submitting it because I feel like these are really cool things I enjoy and I want to share with people. I want people to be inspired by these things, for them to be like, ‘Oh my God, I love that movie, but I haven’t seen this one.’ Or being able to be like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that there are stories being told like this’ and being inspired and being able to have more open minds.”

Haralson’s experience joining Her Campus has been one where she has found a community and her voice.

“I love it. It is a great outlet for creators, especially female and non-gender-conforming creators who are trying to find their voices,” said Haralson. “I am so thankful that there is a space for these writers who are able to come forward and be like, ‘Here’s this cool story that I have.’ It’s so sick! I haven’t seen anything really like it.” 

Recent Chapman alumna, Alena James, who graduated in 2021 with a degree in business administration, worked at Her Campus for about a year. James reflected on her experience fondly, sharing the article “Miley Cyrus: Modern Day Cherry Bomb” as the piece she is most proud of. The article delves into Cyrus’ colorful past as well as her 2020 album, “Plastic Hearts.” 

“I really didn’t want to limit myself,” James said. “I felt like I wrote a lot about politics and stuff for Her Campus, so I really wanted to make a shift there. And I’m just really proud of that piece specifically because it’s definitely just my raw writing. It didn’t need much editing and I just kind of poured it out. That’s my favorite thing I’d ever written just because I was finally writing about something that I actually just loved so much and am so passionate about.” 

James said she is forever thankful to have written for Her Campus when she did, as it opened many doors that have since advanced her career. 

“Her Campus really gave me the opportunity to shine, to write about whatever I wanted to and also to feel like it was actually being seen and heard,” James said. “Because Her Campus is the No. 1 college media site nationally, there are people all over the world that could look at my article. Oftentimes when you’re a writer, you write a lot of content that just doesn’t get seen … but actually getting people to look at it is crazy, so to already have traffic to that site specifically, was a huge deal.”

Mitchell and Haralson will soon join James in being Chapman alumni. Mitchell hopes other Chapman students will be able to keep Her Campus alive to continue being impactful in their absence. 

“I’m hoping to get a lot more younger writers this year to pass the torch down,” Mitchell said. “I don’t want to see it go away like all the years prior. I think it’s so important to have something like this on campus.”

For more information on how to read or write for Her Campus at Chapman, visit their chapter website, follow them on Instagram @hercampuschapman.