Illinois State University’s Feminist Led Activist Movement to Empower (FLAME), a registered student organization, was reignited during in fall 2022. With help from Students Ending Rape Culture (SERC) and YWCA Stepping Stones, FLAME kicked off the semester with the annual exhibition of the Clothesline Project, which aims to draw attention to the epidemic of violence and sexual assault on and around campus.
The following week, FLAME hosted the Take Back The Night march, an international movement for survivors of gendered violence to reclaim the night as a safe space. In response to the anti-LGBTQIA+ incidents that took place across campus during the fall, FLAME opened the march to include all marginalized survivors of violence with the support of around 80 students, faculty, staff, and community members.
During the spring semester, FLAME hosted a representative from Planned Parenthood’s Community Engagement and Education team to speak about changing access to reproductive health. The concluding Q&A addressed how those in Illinois can assist others across the country in a post-Roe v. Wade landscape. Programming was made possible by FLAME’s student board, consisting of president Hannah Pelphrey, vice president Taliah McNeil, secretary Ash Lucero, and treasurer Savannah Middleton.
