Freshmen play a unique role on campus. As the freshest eyes and ears, they offer a new perspective on college life and have the most incentives to promote change for their school and their own future. Five freshmen women from five different schools were asked about their opinions on feminism and their experiences with feminism as freshmen, and here is what they said:
Bits, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA
HC: Why is feminism important to you?
B: I think feminism is important to me because I think equality is something worth fighting for. I think we need feminism because it’s not fair that people are thought of differently and receive less rights simply because of their race or gender.
HC: How do you view feminism (or the need for feminism) on your campus?
B: I would say feminism is very prevalent on campus; however, I do think that there are some people on campus who do not agree with feminism, but that just comes with going to a campus that accepts all perspectives.
HC: What do you think your school is doing to promote feminism, if anything?
B: Brandeis has a feminist club on campus to help promote feminism. Brandeis is also very big on social justice, so I would say that spreading feminism is a part of spreading social justice and is one of the goals of Brandeis.
HC: How do you think your school could improve its support of feminism on campus?
B: I think it could be beneficial for the feminist club to have more events that people could go to to discuss feminism in a casual fun environment. But other than that, I feel that Brandeis largely supports feminism on campus.
Ciara, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
HC: Why is feminism important to you?
C: I believe that feminism is important because it encourages people to discuss issues that are incredibly sensitive. Feminism allows for people from diverse backgrounds to be able to relate to each other and band together for a common goal.
HC: How do you view feminism (or the need for feminism) on your campus?
C: Feminism is somewhat lacking on CU Boulder’s campus. Although there are a lot of people who support the fundamental basics of feminism, there is not much discussion of the ideas of feminism outside of specific groups. Intersectional feminism seems to be almost entirely absent from this campus (outside of specific groups). The typical student who believes in and promotes feminism, even if they are a passionate advocator for it, will only speak of white, cisgender and heterosexual feminism.
HC: What do you think your school is doing to promote feminism?
C: Boulder has a Women’s Resource Center which has a variety of organizations and events running out of it. A couple of times a month they run a discussion about feminism in relation to a certain topic. Other than this one center, Boulder does not do much to promote feminism.
HC: How do you think your school could improve its support of feminism on campus?
C: I think that CU needs to make more of an effort to expand the reaches of its feminism programs to the general population of the school. As it is, the events and programs that the school does have are only widely known among special interest groups, such as the Women and Gender Studies department or the queer community.
Elena, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
HC: Why is feminism important to you/why do you think we need feminism?
E: It is important to me because feminism is the belief that women deserve equal rights to those of men, and that view is one that promotes a culture of equality and the empowerment of women in all aspects of life. Feminism is imperative for the establishment of a culture that equally respects and promotes the rights of all people.
HC: How do you view feminism (or the need for feminism) on your campus?
E: I think that support for feminism is highly prominent on campus and openly discussed, partially due to the high ratio of women to men on campus, but also due to the liberal nature of a small university in the Pacific Northwest.
HC: What do you think your school is doing to promote feminism?
E: Puget Sound has a number of clubs that directly support feminism and generally empower those who identify as female by providing opportunities for discussion and support for discrimination. For example, the school radio station has a radio show solely for punk rock songs that are written by women and that empower women.
HC: How do you think your school could improve its support of feminism on campus?
E: I honestly think that the culture at UPS supports feminism very well and the administration demonstrates that they are supportive of all students, including all of those who identify as female.
Izzy, George Washington University, Washington D.C.
HC: Why do you think we need feminism?
I: So that my daughter will never be told that is she too smart or too bossy, only that she is strong and fierce. Because no girl/child should be told that they should be quiet and keep their intellectual yearnings to themselves because it frightens the other children. Regardless of sex, children should know that they can reach their dreams.
HC: How do you see feminism on your campus?
I: Feminism has a strong place on my campus: there are many clubs and organizations on campus to support feminism and there are many strong female student leaders on campus. But not everyone sees that feminism is an issue that affects them or their loved ones. Everyone needs to understand the threats and fear that plague young women on college campuses.
HC: How do you think your school could improve its support of feminism on campus?
I: Continue to support all institutions that promote women’s empowerment. Stop blaming/ hating on Greek life! Hire/ support more women professors and leaders within the GWU community, as well as fund women’s work and give it equal media attention.
Caley, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, OR
HC: Why is feminism important to you?
C: Feminism is important to me because I am a human being. As a concept and an action, it should be important to every human being on this planet, and it also applies to them. Feminism can be defined as the concept that men and women should have the same human rights and be treated accordingly. This means that feminism applies to women of all shapes, sizes, colors, orientations, occupations, genitalia, gender identities, spiritualities, etc. And guess what? It applies to men of all of these categories too! Because it simply means that EVERYONE of both genders should be on equal playing field. Whether that means getting paid the same amount or looked at the same way when in a leadership position, feminism applies. We need feminism because it allows women to stand up for themselves and speak out in a world where it’s not always allowed. We need feminism so that women are seen as humans rather than as objects. I need feminism. Everyone needs feminism.
HC: How do you view feminism (or the need for feminism) on your campus?
C: Feminism makes an appearance on the campus of Lewis & Clark in what I would call a very bold manner. During orientation, one of the ways I entertained myself was by playing a game that I made up and called, “How many graphic t-shirts having to do with feminism will I see in one day?” Part of this extreme presence is, I think, the type of people Lewis & Clark automatically attracts. Portland has many associations and stereotypes surrounding it, to the point that a whole TV show has been made about it. Whether or not these stereotypes are true, the type of high school seniors who are going to be excited about moving to “the hipster capital of the world” tend to often fall within them.
Thumbnail image courtsey of Alexa Mazzarello via Unsplash