Major: English, Creative Writing, and Women and Gender Studies
Hometown: Bronx, NY
Her Campus: What are you involved with on campus?
Zuri Gordon: I work in the ICC and I’m one of the English UDRs. I’m also the president of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA).
HC: How did you get involved with FMLA?
ZG: In the summer before I came before college, I started to learn more about feminism. I just really wanted to find the feminist club so it was the first club I signed up for. It seemed really cool. I went to the first meeting and kept attending then throughout the semester. I joined the executive board as a part of the publicity committee during my second semester of freshman year. I stayed on that committee for three semesters. Now I’m the president.
HC: What’s your favorite part about FMLA?
ZG: I think that feminist discussion and activism is really fun and beautiful. It’s so wonderful to be around allies and women who are so inspiring. It makes me happy to know there are so many great people who are trying to change the world.
HC: What does FMLA do?
ZG: We have meetings every week in our room and talk about relevant feminist matters. For example, we had a discussion on the Robin Thicke song Blurred Lines because our members were interested in facilitating a discussion. We also do a lot of planning for our events during these meetings.
HC: What kind of events?
ZG: In the fall, we hold Love Your Body Day. In the spring, we do Galentine’s Day, Feminist Coming Out Week, and Sexual Violence and Awareness Week. Every semester, we have a coffeehouse.
HC: How did you become so interested in feminism?
ZG: I was not a feminist in high school because I didn’t know what feminism was. The media portrays a really wrong and negative image of feminism. I bought into the negative portrayals and stereotypes. Even though I didn’t consider myself a feminist when I was in high school, looking back I realize that a lot of the work I did in high school and things I was interested in were very feminist. For example, I was always interested in female character portrayal. Like I said, I started identifying with feminism during the summer through social media and the Internet. Being a part of the club has been a learning process and being a better feminist. I also worked at the Women’s Resource Center. Brandeis as a place has really helped my feminism. Now, feminism is one of the biggest interests of my life.
HC: How can someone get involved with FMLA?
ZG: Being a part of FMLA is super easy. You can join at any time and learn about feminism if you’re interested. It’s not a humungous commitment at all.
HC: What’s your favorite thing to do at Brandeis?
ZG: I have really great friends at Brandeis and I like to hang out with them. My suite is full of really great people.
Favorites:
Movie: Titanic
Book: Looking for Alaska, Siddhartha
TV Show: Friday Night Lights
Food on Campus: Pasta station in Usdan
Favorite class at Brandeis: Black Feminism Thought, Studies in Pop Culture