"Feminists--both women and men, girls and boys--are the majority, but this majority must be empowered," proclaims the website of the Feminist Majority Foundation. Now, three Duke students are trying to find that majority on campus, if it exists, and empower it.
Despite the increasing prevalence of issues like sexual assault on campus, senior Marissa Bohrer and sophomores Jill Hopman and Jessica West were convinced that Duke had a noticeable lack of feminist organizations. So, they decided to do something about it.
Bohrer, Hopman and West--who is also an associate photography editor with The Chronicle--founded the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, Duke's own branch of the FMF. The FMLA at Duke aims to utilize research and action to educate women in the community regarding pressing feminist issues, bringing the principles established in 1987 by FMF founder Eleanor Smeal, Woman's College '61, to life on campus.
An executive board of eight members petitioned successfully for funding from DSG and is now ready to "tackle any issue facing women on Duke's campus," Bohrer said.
Duke's newly launched branch of the FMF originated as a project for a "Women as Leaders" class taught by Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy Studies Betsy Alden, who asked students to realize an activist project on campus that would successfully integrate principles from the classroom.
Alden praised the efforts of the FMLA's founders. "They have been able to network with a wide constituency of women at Duke to bring together a diverse group who are committed to changing policies and practices which are not women-friendly, both on campus and in a larger political sphere."
To do so, said sophomore Katie Wilson-Milne, founding member in charge of recruitment, the executive board appealed to a wide variety of student organizations on campus, including sororities.
Of the eight executive members currently involved with the FMLA, only two are not sorority members. As a result, said senior Megan Harris, one of the two non-sorority members, several people on the board have raised concerns that the organization will be perceived as being devoted solely to issues directly concerning sorority life at Duke.
"Many women at Duke are not seeking sorority representation and need their issues addressed. It is important that the FMLA become a forum for discussion among all types of people at Duke without losing a focus on feminist beliefs of equality--not superiority," said Harris, who also works in The Chronicle's advertising office.
Though recognizing sororities as a great resource for drawing members, the FMLA's activities and outreach efforts will be geared toward a much more diverse community. "Duke seems to be lacking any kind of formal network of women outside of sororities. We want to step in and fill that void," explained Bohrer, a sorority member.
Wilson-Milne, who is also in a sorority, agrees. "We don't want to alienate anyone or make this a place where only sorority issues are dealt with."
The group has already garnered support from several organizations, including Planned Parenthood and the Women's Center. While the FMLA has no official affiliation with the University's newly launched Gender Initiative, Bohrer said she hopes to integrate the Initiative's findings in future outreach efforts.
When asked if the group had faced any kind of opposition, Hopman replied: "If anything, we have gotten support from every corner of campus. Juniors have e-mailed me from abroad, telling me how happy they are, how incredibly necessary this is."
"Unfortunately," she continued, "I think that the word 'feminist' does have a negative connotation. I think so many girls are feminists and they either aren't aware of it or are afraid to say it. We are going to change that. We are not bra-burning, man-hating women. We just want to do great things for women at Duke University. And if we do come across opposition, we will deal with it accordingly."
A general member interest meeting for the FMLA will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in Von Canon C. As one of its first projects, the executive board hopes to mobilize support for a preliminary campaign to promote contraceptive options for women at Duke.
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