The Feminist Collective held its first weekly meeting Sept. 17 at The Grill. Among the items discussed, besides a new meeting place, was how the less than 10 members in attendance could make a definite and positive impact on campus policy this year. The feminist collective wants to “create a safer environment for women, and, also, for everybody,” says President Maria Siino. Siino, a 19-year-old sophomore, and former Collective vice president, has succeeded SFUAD alum and Collective founder Julia Griffin as the club’s top administrator. Griffin, who now lives and works in Humboldt County, Calif., says of Siino, “Maria is a lot of intensity in a very small package…I know she has the fortitude, the sense of humor and the imagination to run this group…I trust her to pick the right future for the Collective.” Siino, in her new role, views herself as a facilitator in service to the needs of the Collective, its members and the student population. “I hold a lot of the responsibility, but I try not to maintain all the power,” Siino says. Her leadership style is meant to cultivate an inclusive atmosphere, and to ensure that lack of official position, or the holding of a position lower in the hierarchy, does not preclude any potentially valuable contributions. “We want to make sure that no one’s voice goes unheard,” Siino says. Among those voices is sophomore studio arts major Shelby Criswell, know on Facebook as Buncle Shelborp. “I joined the Collective because there is a big need to redefine the word ‘feminism’ and show people it’s not a dirty word,” Criswell says. “To me, feminism encompasses so much more than the struggle of women. It’s the fight for equality of everyone…it’s the advocacy of justice for survivors of...
Meet the Feminist Collective
posted by Maria Costasnovo
By Maria Costasnovo/Photos by Sandra Schonenstein Julia Griffin, the leader of the feminist collective, first decided to lead SFUAD’s Feminist Collective two years ago. The initiative hasn’t always been easy. Since the collective kicked off, Griffin and the members say they’ve struggled a bit with some negative connotations that seems to follow the word “feminism.” Now their goal is is to gain more recognition on campus and dispel any myths that their group is solely made up of women talking negatively about men. Indeed, the Feminist Collective had its first meeting of this semester in Alexis, and from the beginning of this meeting, that general idea was torn up. The meeting started with the presentation of every member of this group discussing their interest in the group. For example, Ana Stina Rimal said “I wanted to join to a feminist collective for the first time during my puberty, when I was not understood by people around me, and I was insulted by them just because I had sex.” Diana Padilla says she felt attracted by the feminist collective “when I saw that there were people my same age that had such retrograde ideas about life and women.” On the other hand, there’s Adam Wall, who’s interested in discussing homosexual and transgender rights. After each member of the collective presented him or herself, it was time to think what kind of events were necessary in the school. Griffin says the collective is very open to ideas for events for the fall semester. Certainly one point of the collective is to join together to discuss issues ranging from members’ own issues to international conflict. Griffin also has contemplating a zine to inform the campus about the collective’s meetings and projects. The collective plans to meet weekly; more information and updates are available on its Facebook page. Ultimately, Griffin says, she began the collective “as a safe place for anyone,”which means anyone who is interested can join. “This is a space for people to be who they really...
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