'Everyone is welcomed': Bethel FemCore seeks impactful spring
Benavides, Atchison hope to grow the club considerably by summer.
Bethel College hangs its hat on providing students with a diverse collection of on-campus opportunities, especially through student-run clubs. Often we see the Diversity Council planning international events or the Student Activity Council organizing game nights — but there’s another club making its presence felt across the Green: FemCore.
“We want the Bethel community to know that we’re not just a feminist club who provides period baskets. We’re more than that.”
FemCore is a feminist collective on campus and many students may not really know what this club actually is, which is why I decided to interview the club’s president, Emil Benavides, and member Tara Atchison so they could tell me more about it. As a club, they’re working towards intersexuality on campus, improved overall wellbeing, and better mental and physical health for women.
Benavides began her leadership role in the club during her freshman year. “I volunteered myself into this and I loved it from the start,” she said. “I immediately started working with URGE, which is our sponsor located in Wichita. From then on, I started to take over every organizational matter.”
As they aim to provide better access to basic health needs for females as well as on- and off-campus assistance, FemCore also looks to raise awareness about sensitive topics as they work to grow the group — this semester is all about growth.
This is mostly driven by the false labels the club’s leadership feels they’ve been stuck with, such as the “period basket club” or the group that supports “toxic feminism.” This is also tied with their plea for individuals to stop taking the period baskets from their original locations.
Atchison explains, “This semester, we want to move our club away from that. Students should know that we strictly want to inform and raise awareness. We want our club to get bigger. Everyone is welcomed: both men and women.”
“We … want to inform and raise awareness. We want our club to get bigger. Everyone is welcomed: both men and women.”
Tara Atchison
This past semester, FemCore was a participating club in the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Red Flag campaign. Every day during one week in December, they hosted a series of events, including a discourse about sexual abuse and domestic violence, giving away stickers and wristbands, and inviting Director of Student Wellness Jill Hoopes to speak on what an abusive relationship look like.
“But on the last day, we had a sweet ending,” the club said. “We had such a tough week going on, so we finished it with Tara‘s special Chai in the Agape House.”
Currently, members are workshopping events for Women‘s History Month in March. Ideas such as a “chick-flick movie night” and “Convocation announcements about the importance of women in power” are featured on the brainstorm list.
FemCore is also in deep works with Bethel on Title IX reform in order to usher in desired changes to make the institution a safer place.