The Gathering Crew are the people who make The Gathering what it is.
They work their ass off to give you the best gathering each year. You have
maybe discovered that the majority in the crew are boys, but among all these
male crewmembers, there are some girls.
This year there are 28 girls in crew.
We talked to some of them for giving you a insight view of how it is to be
a
female crewmember at The Gathering, and how they feel that they have been
treated in the crew this year. We hope this will give you a new thought about
apply for crew next year.
We wanted to show you two different crewmembers, in two very different crew
positions: Torunn Elise Wahlen Olsen aka Zicero [ Shiftleader Tech:support ]
and Christine Christensen aka ewne [ Admin:CrewCare ]
Torunn is shift leader in Tech:Support. She is 21 years old, and it's her 4th
year
in The Gathering Crew, and she likes it very much.
"There are only positive things to say about being in The Gathering Crew".
In Tech:Crew you have the advantage of planning and setting up the network,
it's a good community, and you learn a lot, new things every year.
Before The Gathering and when they set up the network, there are many tasks
that are the same, but as soon as the party has started, there are many different
tasks, where you have to be creative and find solutions.
How did you find out that you wanted to apply for crew?
Because The Gathering is so big, it's a real challenge.
"I didn't think I had enough experience to join the Tech:Crew, but I used
to
be crew in smaller parties, and that's why I applied."
Do you feel alone when there are so few girls in Crew?
Torunn means that there are so many nice boys here, so it's not a problem.
She went on a typical "boy-school", so she is used to boys humour and
act.
She says that it's fun working with all the boys, because when she finds a
solution for some kind of problem, the boys is very impressed.
To get into crew, you have to send an apply on a database called wannabe
where you write who you are, why you apply, and what knowledge, and
experience you have about computers, teamwork etc.
Torunn wrote that she had been crew on different smaller parties, and that
her interest for computers are big, that she went to a school which had
Information Technology as one of their main studies.
Advantages of being crew:
After completed work at The Gathering, you get a certificate which
proves
your capabilities. This is positive papers to add to a CV. It's also very positive
if you want to be crew in other parties, because The Gathering is so big.
Crew Community:
Of course the different crews get into groups, but there are no problem getting
in
contact with people in the other crew sections. The crewmembers are very nice
people, who are there for making a great party.
In Tech:Support they work 8 hours, being available if any problems occur.
They also have 8 hours stand-by where they should be available in case of
emergency.
Make the crew feel like home (read explanation of CrewCare here)
Tech:Crew is a crew where you need technical knowledge, but that's not
necessary in some of the other crews. For example Admin:CrewCare.
We've talked to Christine Christensen aka ewne in this crew. It's her
first year, and she tells us that she like it in Crewcare, because it's
many different people to talk to. You get the chance to see how
The Gathering works from the inside. It's fun and interesting.
Christine has a friend that was crew on The Gathering 02. She
suggested for Christine that she should apply for crew.
In CrewCare there are four girls and two boys. So Christine does not feel
like being in a minority and alone as a girl. She got more friends that are
boys
than girls, so she is also used to their way to act in front of girls. She doesn't
feel
that they try to make them look better then they are.
On her application she wrote kind of a "This is me"-story, where
she told about
herself and her interests.
How will your Crew-appearance give you advantages?
It will help me later, when I'm applying for a job for example. I'm going to
be a
teacher, so the work with people, like CrewCare does is a good thing to bring
with me.
Do you recommend other girls to apply for crew?
Yes, of course. It's a great experience, and we can keep tell the people
that girls also
are compatible with computers.
In CrewCare they work 8 hours shift, with two and two on each shift + chief.
That's ok length of the shifts, says Christine.
To all of you girls who always have wanted to be crew at The Gathering.
We hope this is an inspiration for you, and will help you find the way to the
wannabe database. There is always need for some girls in The Gathering Crew
Written by Mats Frøiland. Photos by Helge Øyvind Hoel.
