School, relationships, money and time management are just some of the topics college women deal with every day, said Detroit sophomore Jennifer Frazier.

The group Sophisticated Women of Color hosted its first public Inhale/Exhale event Wednesday night in the Isabella room of the Bovee University Center to discuss causes and solutions to many of those topics.

Frazier, president of SWC, said Inhale/Exhale is something the organization does at the end of its meetings every week.

“It is the time where each member can say what is on their mind about school, life, relationships,” she said. “If a member has some advice, that advice is then stated after everyone had a chance to speak around the room.”

The same technique was applied during the public event. Twenty young women sat in a circle and exchanged their thoughts about life.

“It would be nice for people to take away the fact that everyone is different, but when it comes down to certain problems in school or in the workplace, we all as people have similar situations,” Frazier said.

SWC member Tiffany C. Johnson said she organized the public event because she is an outspoken person and was interested in seeing what other people had to say about these topics.

“I tried to focus on what everyone could relate to,” the Ypsilanti junior said about the topics chosen. “This is what is on a lot of people’s minds.”

Southfield sophomore Jessica Lovy also is a member of SWC.

She said the Inhale/Exhale exercise was always her favorite part of the meetings.

“It gave me time to speak up to people that I knew were listening and ready to give input,” she said.

The topic of money was one the women were enthusiastic about discussing.

“It’s better to use cash because you can see it going,” Lovy said. “But once you get to the mall (with an ATM card), you get to swiping.”

Another topic of interest was whether college truly prepares students for the real world.

“College doesn’t prepare you for the real world just like high school doesn’t prepare you for college,” Frazier said.

At the end of the discussion, each of the participants shared her feelings on the week so far.

Canton freshman Breana Wallace said she was interested in hearing other people’s thoughts on the issues.

“It was really eye-opening to see what other people had to say tonight,” she said.

Sophisticated Women of Color meet at 8 p.m. every Thursday in the Terrace rooms of the UC. Students can get more info by e-mailing sophisticatedwomen@hotmail.com or visiting their Web site, swc2009.blogspot.com.

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