Asiah Mendoza
Assistant Editor
Two business management majors have founded the Feminist Advocacy Empowerment student organization.
The organization is advised by Philis Barragán Goetz, assistant professor of history and co-coordinator of the Women and Gender Studies minor program. President Destiny Pappas and Vice President Lyndze Mullennix hosted its first meeting in late October.
FAE will have a tabling event at 10:15 a.m. Nov. 11 in the Central Academic Building courtyard and an online and in-person meeting will be held at 2 p.m.
According to JagSync, the purpose of the organization is to “promote equality, acceptance, and to empower the women at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.”
The organization’s goals include creating a safe space, offering free menstrual products on campus and changing the language within society.
“I have never met a woman who has not been the victim of sexual assault or harrassment,” Pappas, business management junior, said. “This is not something that I want my nieces or Lyndze’s nieces to grow up in. I want to be able to change it for all the girls in the world who shouldn’t be sexualized when they don’t want to be.”
Barragán Goetz said she and Dr. Merritt Rehn-Debraal wanted a new student organization.
“As faculty, we want to encourage it and help students get organized but it has to come from the students,” Barragán Goetz said. “So I got an email from Destiny and Lyndze saying they wanted to start the organization… I met with them on Zoom and what they’re envisioning and what their goals look like is exactly what Dr. Rehn-Debraal and I had been talking about.”
Mullennix, business management junior, said she and long-time friend Pappas were looking to get more involved on campus but couldn’t find an organization that they felt connected to.
Pappas said the idea for creating FAE came while sitting in a Dunkin’ Donuts.
“I was at Dunkin’ Donuts and I saw how hard these ladies were working and I was like, ‘They should be appreciated more,’” Pappas said. “That led to this whole revelation about women’s rights.”
Mullennix said the organization was originally called “Female Advocacy Empowerment” but it was changed to “Feminist” to change the way people see the word.
According to Merriam-Webster, feminism is defined as “the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.” However, according to BeLatina, the modern day stigma around feminists is that they are “perceived as militant, anti-male and mildly hostile.”
“Our adviser suggested we change it to feminist, but at the beginning we were iffy about it because the word has a negative connotation to it,” Mullennix said. “But ‘feminist’ is not a bad word… We shouldn’t shy away from it.”
Mullennix said the group is not just for females, but for feminists.
“It’s for everyone,” Mullennix said. “Men, women, allies and non-binaries. It’s for everyone who believes in equality.”
Pappas said it’s important for men to join the organization to create the conversation.
“A lot of men don’t listen to women… That’s a statement,” Pappas said. “I guess because we’re different in some aspects, it’s easier for (men) to take information from another man. So if we have another man in our group who is spreading awareness and having these conversations with other men, it creates a connection.”
Pappas said students of all majors should consider joining this organization because of the amount of sexism and pay gaps within different fields.
“Even if it’s not directly related to your major, you definitely need it outside of school ㅡ you need it for everyday life,” Mullenix said.
Barragán Goetz said students don’t realize the amount of change they can create.
“Students have agency,” Barragán Goetz said. “They have a tremendous amount of power to affect change, not only in their lives or the lives of the people in their community, but on campus as well.”
For more information about the Feminist Advocacy Empowerment organization and its meetings, visit https://jagsync.tamusa.edu/organization/fae
