Arts and crafts aren’t just for children. On Nov. 28, Auburn students and community members of all backgrounds will come together to discuss the second-most controversial F-word: feminism.
Auburn students Amanda Murphy, senior in theatre; Cheyenne Dalton, senior in theatre, and Hallie Patterson, junior in theatre, who are all self-identified feminists, began planning this event, which will be located at Telfair Peet Theatre, as a class project.
From there, it has reached past their small group of classmates to the greater Auburn community, with almost 200 people showing interest in the event on Facebook.
The event is designed as a relaxed place for people of all backgrounds and opinions to discuss everyday feminism.
“We’re trying to lean more toward a lighthearted atmosphere than academic,” Dalton said. “Not many people would take a class on feminism, but they might be more likely to go to an event where there’s food, crafts and fun to talk about it.”
Attendees will have a wide array of craft projects to participate in, including making keychains,
The three saw crafting as a fun way to bring people together while discussing feminism outside of an academic setting.
“The crafts are just something to do with your hands that help people talk,” Murphy said. “That was our main idea when deciding to do crafts — to make things fun and easy.”
The five crafting stations will be run by facilitators from multiple University departments to guide conversations and provide insight on feminist topics.
“We want the conversation to flow organically, but the facilitators will be a great way to help that happen if people get stuck on what to talk about,” Patterson said. “We have sheets with discussion starters for them if someone doesn’t know what to talk about.”
In addition to crafts, the event will have a potluck-style dinner and raffles for participants. Mama Mocha’s Coffee Emporium and Mellow Mushroom have both already donated raffle prizes.
All from small hometowns, Murphy,
“When I started getting more generally aware of the world around me and conscious of what was going on, I started seeing the ways that different structures and systems affected the people that I love and effected myself,” Patterson said. “Learning about life, society and politics made me really want to speak out about it.”
All students in Auburn’s theatre department, the three faced difficulties in a male-dominated field.
“When I was in high school and first started theater, I became very self-aware that the field I was entering was very male-dominated,” Dalton said. “I’m a sound engineer, and there’s the whole ‘sound guy’ culture. I remember always wondering why there wasn’t an equivalent women’s side to that.”
Murphy, Dalton and Patterson met as students in the theatre program. They instantly bonded as a team, and have worked on several projects together over the past three years.
“We have a lot of love for each other and respect for each other’s work,” Murphy said. “We all have different unique talents that help us to really complement each other and work well together.”
The three have planned this event from scratch with the help of their professor Sarah Chandler.
“While it is for a class, we don’t have any club or group of people behind us, so that’s been an interesting challenge and a lot of fun,” Murphy said.
The event will take place in the Black Box at Telfair Peet Theatre, and will run from 5:30–8:30 p.m. Everyone from the community is welcome.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Gabby Dance, senior in journalism with a minor in women's studies, is the assistant campus editor of The Auburn Plainsman.
