When Chieko Zimmerman, freshman elementary education major, began her time at Emporia State, she noticed a lack of feminist groups on campus. Empowered by her previous feminist experiences, she decided to begin the group I Am That Girl.
I Am That Girl concentrates mainly on creating an environment or group for girls to come together and have the vulnerable conversation,” Zimmerman said. “What the vulnerable conversation is supposed to do is promote positivity in the girls and confidence which then allows them to go out in the community, be involved, more confident and prepared to make a difference.”
Zimmerman is president of the group which currently has seven members.
“I am incredibly proud of the initiative and persistence of Ms. Zimerman in getting the organization off of the ground,” said Melissa Reed, adviser of I Am That Girl and associate professor of elementary education, early childhood and special education.
Zimmerman is working on a service project Feb. 10 in Topeka.
“In Uganda, the girls that go to school there aren’t able to go to school for a week because they don’t have any feminine hygiene products during their periods,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve partnered with someone here who goes to Uganda and we’re making sanitary pads so girls can go to school all month.”
According to the I Am That Girl Facebook page, the organization tries to counteract the perceptions of girls in the media by lifting girls up, instead of contributing to breaking them down.
“The title kind of put me off at first,” Zimmerman said. “I was like, ‘Why are we saying ‘girl’? Why not woman?’ The more I thought about it and the more I looked into it, I saw the power in it. There’s such a stigma about it (being a girl). It’s hit like a girl, fight like a girl, run like a girl. It’s usually negative. I thought it was really powerful to say ‘I am that girl. Yes, that is powerful and I want to be that.’”
Zimmerman is working on creating a constitution, establishing biweekly meetings and becoming a Registered Student Organization. Those interested in joining can contact [email protected].
