It has been 95 years since women earned the right to vote. It has been 51 years since the

Equal Pay act was passed. It has been 42 years since Title

IX came into effect, promising equal treatment of the sexes in government-funded ventures.

There have been 0 days when all women, especially feminists, have felt truly equal to men.

“The way that the media portrayed [feminists] in the past in cartoons or TV shows or movies, people get a negative view of who and what feminists look like, but it doesn’t just apply to women but to anyone who is seeking equality,” senior Grant Foley said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that women get the upper hand or that women are replacing men in the social hierarchy. I think that we should promote feminism as equality and something that everyone should aspire to be.”

Emma Watson’s U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Sept. 20 speech focused on the role of men in feminism, and that the movement is their crusade too.

“After a long time of [my male friends] hanging out with me they have begun to see my points and they’re like ‘oh, she’s right,’” senior Lily Cruz said. “To me, feminism is logical, to think in these ways, to want to change, to want to not be discriminated against.”

Cruz said that she has seen this discrimination firsthand.

“I see a lot of bullying going on by girls being shamed by boys and other girls who grew up in a society like Allen, which is very conservative,” Cruz said. “A lot of times I have had to stick up for other people because it is just unfair to me, picking on someone or making a joke, because if you make too many jokes it eventually

becomes reality.” One facet of this reality

is rape culture. Defined as an environment where sexual violence is considered the norm and people are taught not to be raped rather than not to rape, rape culture has become infamous. The dramatic statistic that one in five college women will experience attempted sexual assault brought the issue all the way to the White House, where President Obama issued a nation- wide public service campaign, “It’s on Us” to encourage prevention of college campus sexual assaults.

Foley said that the role of pop culture and media also contributes to males feeling opposed to feminism.

“Our social icons that we have don’t represent a forward thinking generation which is just a downfall as a whole,” Foley said. “For example, when you have rappers and other artists using slurs towards women that are degrading and derogatory, it doesn’t advance anyone in any way, it just brings people down.”

Senior Sheila Harris is looking to find a sponsor to start

a club to discuss feminism and other social issues, a club long in the making.

“There have been multiple attempts to try [to make a club], but it has always seemed too controversial,” Harris said. “There is such a stigma with the word feminism and it is seen so negatively connoted.”

Foley, one of the dozens of students who have expressed interest in a feminism club, said he doesn’t understand the negativity.

Though she has never been assaulted, Cruz had an experience where a boy a grade above her harassed her for about six months during lunch and after school. She reported it to her counselors with an incident report, the first step needed for the school to take action.

“Why should I have to compromise for a boy? Why can’t we just teach boys not to harass us?” Cruz said. “It’s simple things like that, where I shouldn’t have to compromise myself to make up for a boy’s lack of self control, they should just have that.”

“Feminism is just right, and you know it’s right, it’s not something you have to ask yourself, should I do this or shouldn’t I [treat women with respect],” senior Grant Foley said. “It is just common sense at this point.”