The word "feminist" can be a loaded term. One Boston College senior, though, breaks all the stereotypes that have been associated with the label.
Self-proclaimed feminist Cate Prefontaine, A&S '08, didn't come to BC intending to devote her life to combating violence against women. Her career here has been well-rounded - Dance Ensemble, Appalachia trips, a history major, and a pre-med concentration have kept Prefontaine extremely busy. In fact, it wasn't until sophomore year when she took a women's history course that she truly became interested in women's studies, a subject that is now her minor.
The murder of a family friend, however, truly pushed Prefontaine to fight for women's rights. Joan Diver, a 45-year-old mother of four, was raped and slain while jogging on a bike path in her quiet New York town. "Joan's death changed our lives forever. A death so senseless and violent inspired me to try and make change," Prefontaine says. "It shouldn't be normal for that to happen to a woman, and that's what it's become."
Since then, Prefontaine has worked ceaselessly to support women. During her time abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, she worked in a home for abused and orphaned children. Forty girls ages 3 to 18 were housed in near-impoverished conditions, in a house that couldn't even supply them with toilet paper. "The home wasn't well-funded - no one was telling them that they're loved and that they can succeed," Prefontaine says. These are the services Prefontaine provided for the girls in the house - empowerment, love, and a sense of purpose.
Now back in the United States, Prefontaine's work has continued. When she was awarded the Folkard Grant, a grant created in memory of Albert Folkard, the honors program director, Prefontaine was able to travel to New Orleans to attend an event she deems one of the most powerful experiences of her life. On the 10th anniversary of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues, which Prefontaine has performed at BC, thousands of women gathered in the Superdome to fight violence against women. Over 1,200 women of the Gulf South returned to New Orleans for the first time since Katrina, an experience Prefontaine found particularly moving. "It's amazing how much positive work women are doing in New Orleans," she says. "They're rebuilding people's lives."
Spring Break
