CHAARG member prices (per semester)
$45 on-campus chapter membership
$55 virtual chapter member
A women’s exercise organization created to inspire women by challenging them through fitness may be coming to Ball State in Fall 2015.
Ohio State student Elisabeth Tavierne founded Changing Health Attitudes & Actions to Recreate Girls at her school when she realized there was a divide among genders in the gym, according to CHAARG’s website.
Sarah Clem, the chapter trainer and creator of the second CHAARG chapter at University of Cincinnati, experienced the same problem.
“[Women] would always be on the treadmill and the elliptical and men would really be on the weight side of the gym,” Clem said. “[Tavierne] just recognized how that’s not how it’s supposed to be, and CHAARG grew from that.”
CHAARG is an organization at 17 schools and has a virtual chapter, Clem said.
Anyone can apply to become an ambassador, and a CHAARG chapter can start once a university proves its ability to sustain it. The campus chapters must have at least 50 potential members, said Samm Milich, a sophomore exercise science major, who is hoping to become a Ball State CHAARG ambassador.
She started the process in January after hearing about the organization from a friend in the exercise program.
“I did some research to find out what CHAARG is and what it’s about, and I fell in love,” Milich said. “And I began the process to become an ambassador.”
The ambassador application process begins with a written application supplemented with a list of local exercise studios, a video application and 50 names and emails of possible participants.
Milich finds out April 20 if Ball State has been accepted as a CHAARG chapter.
“I’m nervous. I’ve been freaking out,” she said.
Having a chapter at Ball State would allow women to vary their exercise and overcome the intimidation some women feel in the gym.
"You can think of us as a health and fitness sorority," Clem said.
One of the group's slogans is to “liberate girls from the elliptical,” according to their website.
“There’s a huge difference when you walk downstairs in the rec center—it’s all guys. When I got to the squat rack I feel like I’m being watched, you know? It’s kind of like, ‘Why is a girl down here?’” Milich said. “Girls are scared—they’re nervous that guys are judging them because it is a judgment zone.”
A chapter will often reserve a room at campus facilities or travel to a local studio to use that equipment. The travel time will never be longer than 15 minutes in order to be accessible to all, Clem said.
“Say, if going to our Rec Center intimidates a girl who is really wanting to change her life and is passionate about health and fitness, we can go to these studios and challenge each other and be there for each other and do challenging things like CrossFit,” Milich said.
Read More
Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana Supreme Court weighs death row inmate’s final plea
By Indiana Capital Chronicle / 16 hours agoAbout two weeks away from scheduled execution, Indiana death row inmate Joseph Corcoran’s last-ditch attempts to quash his capital punishment sentence are still up in the air.
Need to know before you go: ‘A Conversation with David Letterman and Caitlin Clark:’
By Staff Reports / YesterdayThe use of cellphones, camera, and many other recording devices will not be permitted into the event space. Phones will be secured into Yonder pouches.
Ball State women’s basketball falters against South Dakota State
By Elijah Poe / 2 days agoBall State women's basketball falls to 5-3 on the season after losing to South Dakota State. The loss marks the first time since the 2022-23 season that Ball State women’s basketball has lost two regular season games in a row.
