femme-nest

It may have become clear based on the side links that I'm a Women's Studies student at the University of Georgia; if not, I'm a Women's Studies student at the University of Georgia. So much for anonymity! Feminist scholarship is one of my passions, but as much as I love the academic theorizing that happens when I immerse myself in feminist literature or write an exciting paper on philosophy or epistemology, nothing in the world compares to the feeling I get when I participate in feminist activism. Feminists are some of the most incredible people with whom to rally, protest, and march, and I seriously love love LOVE coming together with like-minded individuals to fight for progressive change and social justice.

In this vein, I'm a co-facilitator of the Women's Studies Student Organization on campus, and we recently organized a rally to address the seriously appalling state of the Women's Studies building at UGA. You can read some of the nitty-gritty details elsewhere, but suffice it to say that the building is literally falling apart. Our rally was a huge success, and a lot of students, faculty, and staff came out to wield signs and chant in front of the building. The event fostered a great sense of community and purpose among Women's Studies students, and taking part in such direct action was really exciting on our conservative campus.

Fortunately and unfortunately, this event boasted the highest participation we've had at an event or meeting all year. While it was great to have so many students rally for such an important cause, I wish these students would be as enthusiastically involved in other aspects of this campaign and our other efforts (such as working to get a Women's Center on campus and organizing for Choice USA) as well. After the rally, the issue disappeared from everyone's radar for about a week; when you're trying to make administration types listen to you and act on your behalf, a week long silence is essentially activist suicide. The school newspaper finally covered the issue today, so that will hopefully get people talking again, but I can't believe we just let it disappear like this.

I think taking feminist action on a largely conservative campus can be a really empowering, subversive, and ultimately radical experience, and I'm sorely disappointed that we've only been able to keep an active membership of about seven students at our WSSO meetings. However, while I'm disheartened right now, I think it's absolutely essential that I work my ass off to get as many students as possible involved in our organization. How else can we ensure a strong feminist presence and voice on campus?