Why did you want to join CFAN, and why do you think it is important that this organization exist?

I wanted to join CFAN because it will not only keep me in touch with fellow Carls, but also will give me another opportunity to be active in the feminist community. I'm one of those people who doesn't think the word "feminist" is bad. I have a bumper sticker on my car that says, "Keep your laws off my body" and another that says, "Well-behaved women rarely make history." I am a sports writer, which is still a very male-dominated profession. It's a lot of fun, though. I wouldn't do anything else.
- Megan Crotty ‘97

I wanted to join CFAN because I like to stay in touch with Carleton alums and because it is not always easy to stay politically active after college. I am hoping that the group will inspire me to live out my values.
- Abby Olsen ‘03

I spent the bulk of my tenure at Carleton involved with feminism and women’s issues. As a member of the Collective for Women’s Issues, resident of Women’s Awareness House, Center Associate in the Gender and Sexuality Center, and student in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department, I was constantly surrounded by people committed to women’s rights and gender equality. After graduating last spring, I felt a void; I no longer had a readily available group of people with whom to discuss or organize around these issues. At my first job out of college, I put up a “This is what a feminist looks like” sticker on the outside of my cube, but, in six months of working there, it never provoked a single conversation or comment. I’ve found other ways to be a feminist, leaving my cube job to intern for the Minnesota Women’s Campaign Fund and volunteer for pro-choice women running for political office, but I want to know what others are doing as well. I’d love to know how others are continuing to be active feminists after Carleton, and how they are integrating that feminism into their daily lives.
- Lauren Benditt ‘05