“This club is for anyone who believes in equality,” said Barbara Mueller, advisor to the Cerritos College Chapter of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.
The club, part of a national network of Feminist Majority organizations is designed to promote awareness and work on issues concerning women.
“Their main issues are the equality of women and the Equal Rights Amendment,” Mueller said.
Other issues that the club focuses on are changed periodically. The agenda is set by the national organization.
According to the Feminist Majority website, some of the issues being looked at this year are women in Afghanistan, women in sports and reproductive rights.
In particular, the Cerritos College FMLA has decided to focus on a campaign called, “Take Back the Night.”
The idea surrounding this campaign is that, “public spaces should be safe for everyone,” Mueller says. It addresses such issues as rape, assault and possible prevention.
The club is also working on what Mueller refers to as the DNA issue.
“There is so much DNA sitting on the shelf that could convict rapists,” she said. Mueller pointed to the case of the Belmont Shore rapist and explained DNA can and should be used in that case.
Because the club works so closely with the national organization, Mueller explained that going to the conference is important. It is there that the students get the opportunity to discuss current issues and the facts and opinions surrounding them.
At conferences, “they’ve met a lot of national leaders,” added Mueller.
The organization, however, seeks to do more than just talking.
“How do we make change?” Mueller asked, “women bonding together.” Through protests, letter writing and awareness-raising events, the club seeks to educate and to promote change.
The feministcampus.org website gives various ideas for getting politically involved; something that Mueller feels the FMLA has done a good job of.
“We have club members in office. One of the main things is how the club members support each other.”
Club meetings for the FMLA are held Monday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in LA 26.
