Women's group starts newsletter

By Courtney Roque

An up-and-coming campus organization is working to bring women’s issues to the forefront of Fresno State students’ minds.

The group, People Organized for Women’s Empowerment and Represen-tation, was formed this spring and has recently announced it will begin releasing a monthly newsletter, with the first edition to reach students later this month.

“We wanted to have a feminist voice represented on campus about women’s issues,” said Michelle Colvin, editor in chief of the new publication, called POWER.

Colvin said POWER plans to unite with other women’s groups on campus to gain visibility for the women’s studies department. She said the newsletter will be a way to highlight events on campus that surround women.

In addition to informing the student body about upcoming events, such as Take Back the Night in late October, the newsletter will address topics central to women’s lives and experiences. Colvin believes the feminist community is under-represented on campus now, and the newsletter will provide a much-needed forum for the feminist voice.

Geri Yang, a member of POWER and a writer for the newsletter, said when Colvin presented the idea of a publication to the club, the members supported her right away.

“It’s great to have a female perspective on campus,” Yang said. She said people can lose out on valuable information when they take into account only one point of view. She hopes the newsletter will encourage students to look at topics from a different angle.

Yang writes the “She Says” portion of the newsletter, which involves asking students how they feel about a selected topic. This month’s question was about the upcoming elections, and Yang was pleased with the number of students who responded.

Along with columns like Yang’s, the newsletter will also include opinion and editorial pieces, a poetry corner, a book review section and other writings by feminist women and pro-feminist men.

POWER now has about 12 members, and anyone interested in joining is encouraged to stop by the Women’s Resource Center for more information about the club.

“We welcome all men and women, as long as they are progressive-minded, socially responsible feminist thinkers,” Colvin said.