A new feminist club established on campus aims to address and educate students on gender equality issues by facilitating awareness among students.

Leaders of the club, sophomore political science major Delaney Bruckner and freshman cinema and media arts major Kris Coe indicate that approximately 55 men and women signed up to participate in the Biola Feminists club that meets every Thursday to have a conversation about the essence and importance of feminism.

“I felt like there wasn’t a representation of women’s rights and feminism at Biola so I thought that making this club would bring more awareness to the idea of equality between genders and will make women here feel more comfortable,” Bruckner said.

In the first meeting on Oct. 2, 23 students were present and discussed their views on feminism and what they would like to accomplish in and through the club.

GOALS OF AWARENESS

The club hopes to educate the Biola community on the seriousness of women’s equality and equip the students with tools for practical application. Although the nature of the club is not typical to Biola, the club’s leaders believe it can still fit with Biola’s values.

“I don’t think it does fit in with the traditional atmosphere; I think it’s very different. It’s going against the grain with Biola. But we want to integrate the Bible into it, I think we are equal in that,” Coe said.

FACILITATING CONVERSATION

Students who have joined the club support this mission and agree that an opportunity to speak openly about their opinions, whether negative or positive, will allow them to grow and develop a better understanding of feminism. Club members acknowledge that people often shy away from the purpose of feminism due to the negative connotation of the word.

“It’s a very important topic to talk about, and it’s not going to go away. It’s like racism or homophobia, it’s a kind of hatred that is so prevalent and damaging that it’s the elephant in the room, but it needs to be talked about,” said senior humanities major Keith Wasson. “That is the only way there will be change in this situation.”

Club members want to focus on the Bible as a guiding text during their dialogue about feminism.

“The stuff that I want to see is us being able to sit down and have a good conversation and be presented with both sides,” said senior music composition major Anna Kietzman. “Also, that we are willing to explore what God says about it and coming back to scripture and being willing to have our minds open to what scripture actually says.”

In addition to maintaining a biblical foundation through these discussions, club members understand the need to look at the treatment of women in other parts of the world and advocate for them.

"It breaks my heart when girls get acid thrown in their face in India for turning down marriage proposals. Women are so important to this world and society treats them like complete garbage. It needs to stop," said Morgan Mitchell, sophomore journalism major.

Even though feminism focuses on the equal rights of women, club members believe their discussion will have a larger impact if their focus encompasses all of humanity.

"This isn’t just a 'women's issue.' This is a people issue," Kietzman said.