Members of the Feminist Chapel supported a Day Without a Woman on March 8 by wearing red and skipping class or work to raise awareness about the need for equality.

The goal of Feminist Chapel is to educate and inform students on feminist issues and to create a supportive place for students to ask questions, said Mollie Spaulding, administrative coordinator for the School of Social Work. The Chapel has 15-20 consistent members.

“In Feminist Chapel, we discussed if a day like this was necessary, if it will be effective and if we as students, faculty and staff would participate,” Spaulding said. “Any participation of us on campus was meant, not to force anything on anyone, but to raise awareness of issues that women are dealing with today. ”

The Day Without a Woman strike was organized by the womensmarch.com calling for women and allies to act together for equality. The strike was meant to raise awareness for equality, justice and the human rights of women and all gender-oppressed people through a one-day demonstration of economic solidarity.

Spaulding said there are several issues within feminism and equal rights, so it’s hard to pick one issue that’s the most important. However, she said feminism is about allowing all people equal opportunities to reach their full potential and not forcing individuals to conform to specific identities.

“Feminism isn’t just about women’s rights, it’s about allowing men to break free from strict gender-specific stereotypes,” Spaulding said. “It’s about trans and gender non-conforming people feeling safe to be themselves, and having the same civil and human rights as the rest of us. Systemic patriarchy harms us all. If anything, I’d like to add that feminism is not a dirty word. Feminism isn’t about hating men or about making women superior. Feminism is about freedom for all of us. I think feminism is a great Christian concept, and fits well into Jesus’ hopes and dreams for the church and for the world.”