A Toast to Kathleen Kelso

Most of us look back on our freshman year and agree that our biggest accomplishment is simply making it to May. One Sewanee freshman, however, is wasting no time making her mark. Kathleen Kelso (C’17) spoke at the most recent Tuesday Toast about her efforts to reincarnate the Sewanee Women’s Rugby team, which disbanded at the end of 2012. You can read about how she did that in the Sewanee Purple’s article and watch her entire talk on the Wick’s Youtube channel. In the meantime, check out these quotes from her Toast and raise your glass to the girl who has gone where few girls have gone before: the rugby field.

• “I was determined not to be lukewarm about anything coming into college.”– on being an uncharacteristically zealous freshman. So, naturally, she signed up for men’s rugby.
• “This is not a no-girls-allowed club!” – on giving herself a pep talk before her first practice with the rugby team.
• “At the first practice, all the new members were asked to say their name, where they were from, and what their penis size was. I just told them ‘I don’t have a penis,’ and they were okay with that.”
• “[The guy tackling me] was trying to cradle me to the ground. What was his thought process? If I fall too hard, I might break in half?” — on her first tackle practice.
• “I didn’t understand why [the other team didn’t want me to play], because my bones have the same amount of calcium as theirs.” – on the other team being afraid of hitting a girl.
• “It’s not like getting punched in the face. It’s like a hug with power that hits the ground.” – on what it feels like to be tackled by a rugby player.
• “There’s a stereotype that you have to be big and foreign [to be a woman rugby player]. But rugby isn’t about being macho and hurting other people. It’s about making decisions. Someone is running towards you and you have to figure out how to stop them and get the ball.” 
• “It’s very empowering—seeing someone equal in power to you running towards you, and then tackling them and being more powerful.”
• “I don’t understand why society thinks it’s only okay for boys to hit people.”
• “That part really bums me out. I want everyone to feel like they can [tackle and be strong]. If you don’t try it just because you think you can’t, that’s such a disservice. And even if you don’t come out and play, just at least realize that you can.”— on women being afraid of contact practice, tackling, hitting, and demonstrating physical strength in general.
• “Obviously beer does not go under the category I abstain from.” – on her strict diet routine.
• “I can almost guarantee we’ll get our asses kicked.” — on the team’s first matchup in April. Which means you should come out and support them to make sure that doesn’t happen! Yay Lady Haze and CHEERS to Kathleen Kelso! 

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