The Mylls Women Collective has a formula: communication plus
community equals empowerment.
The Collective is a new student organization that will provide
an outlet of communication for the Mills community. It will develop
a network by setting up a mailing list for women who want to
exchange ideas. The Collective will aid the development of certain
projects to inform women about issues about which they may not be
knowledgeable. They plan on facilitating student-suggested projects
and programs through various modes of sponsorship. Current club
members have already developed a tentative list of activities for
the near future.
“One of the things we’re really working on right now is bringing
in a female mechanic; we are hoping that will be our first event,”
said co-president Kasey P. Lindsay.
The demonstration will include instruction on how to change a
car’s oil and tires and check fluids.
According to the club’s co-presidents, Ana Brajuha and Lindsay,
the Collective aspires to go beyond the conventional,
specifics-oriented learning of the classroom and encompass a broad
range of topics and interests. Their plans range from the crafting
of reusable feminine napkins to community outreach projects.
“We’re going for everything in terms of what we want to teach
and learn about, from car maintenance, to book arts, to gender
theory, to race issues. From mundane and simple things to fabric of
reality issues,” said Lindsay.
According to co-president Ana Brajuha, she hopes that the
Collective will become an open forum for communication among all
Mills women.
“If there’s something you want to learn or something you want to
teach, we’ll help you,” she said. “We want to make Mills a more
collective campus, to be able to tap into each other as resources.
Traditional academic resources don’t allow us to tap into
that.”
The Mylls Women Collective will not hold standard meetings, nor
has it yet established its own space. The mailing list will be the
key communication ground that will bridge members of the
Collective.
“You get on the mailing list and you are able to email The Mylls
Women Collective,” said Lindsay. “If you are interested in doing
something or there is a project you want to help facilitate, we’ll
get together and decide if we want to support the project.”
In addition, co-president Ana Brajuha would like for the Mills
community to have the opportunity to use arts and entertainment as
a source of knowledge and connection among women.
“I’d like to put a big booklet of videos in a space like the
Solidarity Lounge and have people pick what they want to see and
maybe get a department like sociology to sponsor us. We would like
to see real films about real people that aren’t really well known
and don’t have the stereotypical patriarchal images,” she said.
According to Brajuha, Mylls Women Collective is interested in
collaborating with any group, club, department or person on
campus.
To join the mailing list, e-mail klindsay@mills.edu.
