When senior Kayla Clark began writing the constitution for Free State’s Young Feminists’ Club, she remembered the girl in her American Literature class. Caught in an unplanned speech for gender equality, this girl looked around waiting for her peers to back her up. She kept looking. No one said anything.

“I know some people talk about it in class and get weird looks and stuff,” Clark said.

‘It’ may have been met with strange looks, eye rolls or misunderstanding in Clark’s class. However, in the Young Feminists’ Club, ‘it,’ is feminism, and Clark hopes to provide students with a safe place for discussion and action relating to this movement.

Meetings for the Young Feminists’ Club are held from 6-7 p.m. on Mondays in the choir room, Room 153.

“We need this club because people here are feminists,” Clark said. “People will talk about feminism, but when they talk about it, … it’s not gonna go anywhere. It’s not organized. It may not even be a safe place for them to talk about it. I wanted it to be a safe spot where people could have their voices heard, and if something happens in the school, we could try to do something about it.”

In an attempt to limit unproductive conversation about injustice toward women, Clark plans to include guest speakers, volunteer opportunities and group presentations to generate more involved discussion.

Club sponsor Hilary Morton pointed out that speakers of National Organization of Women (NOW), GaDuGi SafeCenter and Willow Domestic Violence Center hold great insight into the lives of women. In the future, the Young Feminists’ Club hopes to volunteer for these organizations.

“Ms. Morton and I both agree that we don’t want this club to be, ‘Come sit for an hour and complain about men and the patriarchy,’” Clark said.

Senior Olivia Embrey plans to be active in the club and agrees all types of members should feel welcomed.

“We want feminists who already have strong beliefs and want to be a part of this club completely, and we also want young people who are trying it out, who don’t know what it’s about [and] want to learn and see if this is for them,” Embrey said.

Senior Paige Soukup, another participant, reiterated Embry’s sentiment, adding that she hoped the club would cater to all genders.

“I’m kind of excited to get some guys involved,” Soukup said.

Clark was exposed to Lawrence High’s Young Feminists’ Club at a summit for NOW, and hearing of their success urged her to start a similar group at Free State.

Sam Goodwin

Before meetings started in January, the yearbook’s Club Photo Day took place in December. Future Young Feminists’ Club members attracted over 50 students through social media and word of mouth to be in their photo.

Clark hopes to bring students together to tackle issues such as the lack of a sexual harassment procedure in the student handbook and the casual hallway use of words like “gay” and “slut” as insults.

“I’m just most excited to get all different kinds of people together for one goal, and I’m excited to make some positive impacts at this school,” Clark said.

Embrey finds while views of feminism may be misconceived, the movement still holds a place for everyone.

“A lot of people don’t know what it is or why we still need it and why the era for feminism isn’t over yet,” Embrey said. “It’s about protecting people and liberating those whose voices aren’t being heard. To bring that to Free State, bring awareness—that’s really important.”