The Skyline College Model United Nations Club hosted the second annual He For She event in the student center on Tuesday, March 8, to raise awareness about gender equality issues and encourage students to sign the He For She petition. The petition promotes awareness about the issues still facing women’s rights and encourages both men and women to become stewards of gender equality in their own lives.

The campaign was created in September of 2014 by Emma Watson, the United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador. Watson’s widely publicized speech about her own journey to feminism served as a call to action for men to become involved in gender equality, as well as women. This emphasis on involving men in women’s rights became the basis for the campaign’s name, He For She.

“I think it starts with men,” said Student Senator Justin Tom, who stopped by Skyline’s He For She event to sign the petition for a second time. “Since we make up half the population, it’s up to us, to men, to support women and women’s rights.”

Tom became familiar with the campaign a few months prior to the campus event, and signed his name to the petition, even going so far as to share the petition on his social media and to encourage his friends, male and female alike, to sign it as well.

“The petition helps with momentum and awareness,” he said, but he’d like to see gender equality go further here at Skyline, suggesting the creation of a Student Government Equality Committee specifically geared towards gender equality and women’s rights.

This commitment to gender equality from men is a key tenet of the campaign, and has been surprisingly successful.

“Last year we had 100 to 200 signatures,” said the President of Skyline Model United Nations, Yazmena Bannag, who organized the event. “And more of them were from men than women.”

As March is Women’s History Month, it’s an auspicious time to open the discussion posed by the He For She Campaign, to consider how far gender equality has come, and how far it has yet to go.

“It’s not talked about enough,” said Student Senator Allyson V. Roa, who helped out with the table on her free time. “Especially because it’s a new age, it’s 2016, we have gay marriage now. So why are women still being discriminated against?”

As part of the Skyline Student Government, Roa enjoys participating in campus events regarding social justice. “A good amount of people take the time to listen,” she said, “That’s what’s really important, to get people to listen and be aware of the issues.”

When pressed for why the issue is so important and why she chose to organize the event again this year, Bannag explained that women make at least 73 cents to the dollar compared to men.

“That’s not very equal,” Bannag said. “And a lot of career roles, it’s a lot of men that are in these roles, even though [women] work just as hard.”

However, she pointed to the fact that Skyline has a strong track record of equality, particularly in employing a female president, and hopes that the event will serve more as a reminder to be aware of gender issues in society as a whole.

“It’s a societal issue that permeates everywhere I go,” said co-organizer and former Model UN President, Emily Colby. “It’s not that it’s specific to Skyline, it’s just one of those huge issues that affects all of us.”

The two women see the He For She campaign as a way to address such a large issue beginning with their own community.

“Gender equality and women’s rights is one of my biggest passions,” said Colby. “And this was an opportunity to get to use my job for good.”

The petition is available for signing at HeForShe.org.