Young women across the country are spreading the word about feminism on their campuses and in their communities. Over the past year the Feminist Majority Foundation led leadership training workshops for hundreds of young women, teaching them how to organize for affirmative action, and how to start feminist Campus Connections projects on their campuses.

The Feminist Majority Foundation also worked on over 226 campuses nationwide to recruit Expo ‘96 for Women’s Empowerment attendees and volunteers for Freedom Summer ‘96 and Freedom Fall ‘96. Our World Wide Web site, which receives 14,000 hits per day, reaches out to the young feminists who have access to the Internet on campus or at their workplace. The Internet was crucial to spreading the word about Expo ‘96 for Women’s Empowerment and Freedom Summer ‘96 to young women.

"Polls show that young women — college-aged women — are the most feminist group in the country," said Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation. "These young women are eager to work for feminism, but every year we have to turn away hundreds of dedicated young women who want to intern at our offices because we just don’t have the room. We are determined to create positions within the feminist movement to capture the enormous amount of feminist energy and talent out there."

Over the last six months Smeal spoke at 56 colleges and universities, encouraging students to organize on campus to support affirmative action, and publicizing Freedom Summer ‘96 and Expo ‘96 for Women’s Empowerment. A thousand students from 140 campuses participated in Expo ‘96 for Women’s Empowerment, a conference held this past February. And the Feminist Majority has also recruited hundreds of activists and volunteers from 52 campuses to participate in Freedom Summer ‘96 and Freedom Fall ‘96.

One of the most intensive Feminist Majority campus projects is Feminist Majority Campus Connections, which promote feminist student leadership on campus and in the community. Campus Connections have been launched on seven campuses: Brown University, Connecticut College, Cornell University, Duke University, Miami University of Ohio, Oberlin College, Swarthmore College, and the University of Chicago. The coordinators of these projects attended an intensive leadership training at the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Campus Connections have raised money for clinic defense through local Rock for Choice concerts; organized "feminist image-building" week; sponsored feminist candidates for student government; organized voter registration drives on campus and in the community; spoken out against sexism and sexual harassment on the Internet and on campus; conducted a survey of women science majors; sponsored self-defense classes; and started a mentoring program for disadvantaged fifth-grade girls.

"Too often, feminist students don’t have an organized way to get their views heard in the power centers of campus," said Smeal. To help start more programs on campuses, the Feminist Majority Foundation has launched the Envision a Feminist Future project. Donors are asked to designate their alma mater or another university or college for Feminist Majority Foundation programs. If you would like to help Envision a Feminist Future, please fill out the form on page 8 to participate.