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Women Make Change Club grows safe space on campus

Student leaders say weekly meetings and events teach women’s rights and welcome all students
Courtesy of | Women Make Change Club
Courtesy of | Women Make Change Club

At our school, there are many clubs for a variety of different interests. Some are for fun, others for entertainment, some for education and advocacy. One such club that educates and advocates is the Women Make Change (WMC) Club.

Junior Ellie Steinberg, Secretary of WMC, explains the purpose of the club.

“The purpose of the club is to give women a safe space on campus,” Steinberg said. “It’s also to represent women working in different fields and that they can do anything.”

Junior Elle Sinio, Vice President of WMC also further expounds on this.

“It’s to educate people on women’s rights and teach them how they can get involved and be a part of that change inside and outside of school,” she said.

WMC’s purpose is to educate, represent and give a safe space for women. These two board members have also described the process of creating a club like this.

“Over the summer our board got together,” Steinberg said. “We planned out what we wanted to do such as fundraisers, meetings and events. Our club meetings occur every week to keep us organized.”

One event WMC did to promote the club was last year. In the quad WMC hosted a rock painting session to promote the club to anyone who wanted to join.

“We do a lot of events like this,” Steinberg said. ”We do it to make everyone feel included and to show that the club isn’t just for women.”

During the club meetings WMC show presentations on women of significance and any subjects that need to be discussed.

The board describes their experience in setting up a club.

“I would say it was great,” Sinio said. “It helps that all of us in our board are so close already that it was easy to relay different ideas from one another. It was nice just to be able to hear from everyone because everyone all had such great ideas.”

Overall, the club seems to be educational, supportive, organized and well run. This apparent organization and smooth running ties into how they welcome new members.

“We introduce the WMC Board,” Steinberg said. “We have many activities that keep the club engaged and welcome anyone who wants to join, even men.”

According to the board, the WMC Club is on campus to help spread awareness about women’s rights, it is a place to be educated and help others.

Members of the club express how it is to them to be a part of WMC.

“It’s great,” junior Olivia Klipstein said. “The club had created a safe space for women on campus. It’s very warm, inviting and you can tell the board is passionate about their cause.”

Klipstein has been a member of the club since her freshman year, expressing an overall positive experience.

“I enjoy it,” she said. “I think it’s a good way for women to get together and bond.”

Sinio expressed why WMC wanted to make a safe space for women.

“We wanted to make it a safe place because a lot of people don’t realize how many hateful places there are on campus,” Sinio said. “In these places people will say a lot of really nasty and hatefilled things about women and minorities. We really wanted to create this safe space so anyone will know that they’re safe. Anyone can come to us.”

She also expressed what inspired her to continue to participate in WMC.

“Last year I was part of our board as a secretary,” Sinio said. “This year I really wanted to show some leadership around campus, especially with WMC.”

Steinberg also shared her perspective on what inspired her to join the club.

“It did it because I am a woman and I love supporting other women,” Steinberg said.

It appears that the WMC Club is a safe place for all women and well-run. It is also a place to educate people about women’s rights and help the cause. All are welcome to join, including men.

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About the contributor
Isaac Rios
Isaac Rios, News and Features Editor
Isaac Rios, a freshman, is the News & Features Editor of The Mirror, the award-winning student newspaper and website at Van Nuys High School in Los Angeles. He is currently in his first year of journalism. Outside of work, he builds models, draws, plays video games and watches engineering and chemistry videos. To relax, he listens to music, rests and even swims sometimes. He is deeply interested in engineering, chemistry and science, as well as vehicles, specifically military ones. He even has his room decorated with various models and things relating to it. He plays baseball for San Fernando Little League and is currently in the Juniors division. His favorite part about it is that he can mess around with all his friends. His favorite team is the Dodgers, and his favorite player is Shohei Ohtani because of his pitching and batting skills.
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