Generation F* brought students together to discuss organizing and supporting social justice movements on Nov. 8 in the Shepherd Union Building. The workshop was hosted by the Weber State University Women’s Center.
Gia Ghanbari, program coordinator for the Women’s Center, said, “Each workshop does something different, but each has a feminist/social justice topic. This one is about starting a justice movement and funding. We are going to talk about a social justice movement and how to make it viable.”
She suggested the organization should be named based on an issue that needs change, rather than naming the organization based on opinion.
When it came to funding new organizations, Ghanbari discussed software [programs such as GiveButter, which works like GoFundMe, but takes a smaller slice of the proceeds.
LGBT Chair on the Diversity Board Catherine Shackleford said after the workshop, “If I wanted to have a fundraiser for Transday Remembrance and donate it to a shelter, then I would be able to use GiveButter because it only charges a .5% fee. I would want to get as much money as possible rather than donating it to the software company.”
Inclusion was also a big point that Ghanbari touched on. She said, “This is something that I don’t think gets talked about as much. It’s unfortunate, especially in movements that are newer. Since millennials don’t have patience, sometimes people get left out of a movement. If you have people who are willing to help, that’s okay.”
Afterword, Shackleford also said, “I like what she said about making it approachable to a lot of people. So packaging it to people so that people who aren’t already involved in the LGBT community would be more inclined.”
This was the second Generation F* Workshop put on this semester, as well as the last for the Fall Semester. Ghanbari said it would be the Women’s Center’s decision to continue these workshops in the spring, as she will have graduated and won’t be working with the program.
Ben Bigelow and Trevor Belnap contributed to this article.
