When we think of activism, organizing large-scale fundraisers and protests come to mind. But for Hazel Garrity ‘17, a well-known campus activist in the Kent community, activism is being engaged on a day-to-day basis. “It’s about finding little ways to poke holes in ideology, not letting microaggressions slip away,” she says. Her passion for various meaningful causes has lead her to participate in clubs like SAGE, the Diversity and Culture club and Spectrum. In her junior year, she started the F Word, a feminism club dedicated to addressing gender inequality and intersectional feminism.

This school year, Garrity has pushed the F Word forward by planning various activities. In tandem with the Students for Black and Hispanic Unity (SOHBU), she organized a screening of Beyonce’s ‘Lemonade,’ which was followed by pizza and a discussion of the issues women of color face every day. As the leader of the club, she also helped Eleanor Rose ‘18 sell Planned Parenthood t-shirts for a dress down day. The t-shirts raised over 700 dollars, exceeding all expectations. “With so little down time it was not an easy push, but the efforts were definitely worthwhile,” comments Garrity.

Garrity believes that workshops and movies play an important role in reaching a school-wide audience and igniting discussions on campus. “Things like ‘One Love’ this year, and ‘I’m Not Racist, Am I?’ the year before raise awareness of social issues,” she says. Her goal is to “motivate people to look at things from a different perspective.” Through more of these school-wide workshops, she hopes that people will start seeing “politically correct culture” as not what’s difficult but something that “[makes] other people feel comfortable.”