Why More People Need to Address Social Issues on College Campuses

If you read my previous blog post about how my “sorority changed my life” then you know that I was a victim of sexual abuse for 10 years along with every other kind of abuse throughout my life. That experience, along with my core belief in the good in humanity, has shaped me into a person who believes all people should be treated as equals no matter race, sex, or any other characteristics that make humans individuals.

After hearing the moving and undeniably incredible speech by Emma Watson about feminism, I was reminded that feminism, or general belief in gender equality, has become something of a whisper between a few individuals and that in order to ignite a chain reaction of change, it needs to screamed for the whole world to hear.

What better place than a college campus to spark this conversation? During my time at Pace, there were three main Greek organizations of 18 (usually in conjunction or “cosponsored” with others) that spoke about social issues such as rape culture and equality during a majority of their events (shout out to the Beta Delta Chapter of Omega Phi Beta, the Beta Gamma Chapter of Lambda Upsilon Lambda, and the Alpha Xi chapter of Sigma Lambda Upsilon). I think it is important to note that Greek life at Pace University is only 13 percent of our campus. That being said, imagine if the entire campus talked about social issues such as feminism? Furthermore, imagine if it was discussed occurred across the globe.

It has been said that one voice can make way for change and I believe the former Harry Potter star did just that.

During her speech in front of the United Nation, Watson formally opened the door for conversation about feminism, equality, freedom, stating within her first lines “I am reaching out to you because I need your help. We want to end gender inequality—and to do that we need everyone to be involved.”

And those words ring true. It is up to each and every person to make sure that the conversation echoes throughout the world and in turn truly make equality a reality.

So I urge you all to take a stand and to fight for not only feminism, but also equality in all aspects of human life.