By Claire Latsko | Co-Editor-In-Chief
This Sunday, April 29, the Female Empowerment Organization (FEO) will be hosting an Empowerment March at 12 p.m. on the Wakehurst Lawn.
Alexandra Correia, a junior double majoring in Psychology and Administration of Justice, is spearheading the event as the President of FEO. She also serves as Treasurer of the Black Student Union at Salve, one of the 15+ clubs, organizations, and departments that were involved in planning the march and all of its components. “Just to name a few clubs and groups that really stepped up to do their part in making this a success, there is the Women Gender and Sexuality Studies Club, G.I.F.T., SGA, CAB, Psychology Club, and so much more. We also cannot wait to see the images and videos Salve Snapshot and Salve Studios capture and put together on the day of the March,” said Correia.
Correia said that her inspiration for the march came from a positive experience she had last summer at the NEW New England Leadership program, where she spent a week with other female student leaders in the New England area. “Fortunately, this group was highly diverse ethnically, politically, religiously and more. I was exposed to all different types of thoughts, beliefs, and most importantly different experiences as far as discrimination and injustice. All these women, including myself, had different experiences with racism, sexism, discrimination based on religious beliefs, and so one. I realized that although we all had different experiences and different views and causes that we stood for, we all connected with each other and supported each other’s causes,” she said.
The program gave Correia the vision of creating something on the Salve campus where everyone’s causes and voices could be heard simultaneously, while exposing people on campus to diverse experiences outside of the classroom with direct action.
The Empowerment March will begin with a rally, where speeches from Salve faculty and staff will be given, as well as a piece from the keynote speaker, Lul Mohamud, a budding activist who is involved with The Person Center, a non-profit that works with survivors of domestic and sexual violence from war-torn nations.
After a march around a section of campus, there will be food available on the Wakehurst lawn, as well as an outside art gallery featuring different dance, music, poetry, and visual art pieces. Correia said that what makes this exhibit so special is that “all this pieces of art are all created on the different issues and campaigns that the March is aiming to bring to light.”
The purpose of the March is simply to empower. “This year, we all felt that holding a march that only concerned women’s issues just wasn’t enough,” said Correia. “There is no denying that these past couple years or so, we have seen an uproar in discrimination and injustice across all groups of people, such as racial minority groups, women, trans and LGBTQ groups, those with disabilities, and so on.”
Correia and the rest of FEO realized that they did not want to march for just one group of people, and began planning the Empowerment March as a way to fight for multiple causes at the same time. “I truly don’t believe you can call yourself a true social activist if you don’t advocate for the equal rights and fair treatment of all people,” she said. “We all truly believed in all the amazing campaigns like the Women’s March, Black Lives Matter, Me Too, March for Our Lives, etcetera, and thought that wouldn’t it be amazing if we could all show our support and march for all these causes together?”
The Empowerment March, then, is all-inclusive, where everyone can come together and share their different experiences and support one another’s causes. Correia hopes that the March can turn into an annual event, and that the school sees the event as a way to unite the community and create positive social change. “The Empowerment March is Salve’s change to do their part in furthering our University’s mission and the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, while connecting with the larger societal issues that currently has our nation’s attention,” Correia said.
Correia is excited to welcome every person attending the event. “There is no greater feeling than seeing people support and come out for something that is important to you and more importantly, something that is vital to improving and empowering our community and society as a whole,” she said. “I cannot wait for everyone to be able to come together and just celebrate this amazing event and see them all taking the opportunity to do their part in fighting for social justice and equality for all people.”
Use #SalveEmpowers on your social media for sharing pictures and creating posts about the event.
If in the event of bad whether the Empowerment March will take place inside on the first floor of Wakehurst.
For more information contact Alexandra Correia at alexandra.correia@salve.edu
