The Brandeis Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (B-FMLA) won the New England Excellence in Leadership FMLA award. In February, FMLA organizations and affiliates throughout the country submitted nominations for numerous categories in the FMLA Awards. This is the first time the FMLA Awards have been held. The Excellence in Leadership Regional Awards are awarded to New England, Mid-Atlantic, South, Mid-west, Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest, and Southwest colleges, recognizing FMLAs or affiliates. The awards are given to FMLAs that demonstrated excellence in feminist and pro-choice organizing and leadership during the 2002-2003 academic year. An award was given to one FMLA per region.

"I'm honored that they would award all of our hard work," B-FMLA President Lily Davidson said.

Davidson recalled the variety of activities B-FMLA sponsored and participated in throughout the past year: "We raised money at a coffeehouse for two Bangladeshi women who worked at a Disney sweatshop who came to speak last semester, we did the Rock-For-Choice concert, we worked to let the campus know that emergency contraception is available on campus, we collected signatures on campus to have the Federal Drug Administration approve over-the-counter use of the emergency contraception pill, we attended a regional leadership training conference. ..."

According to Feminist Majority Foundation Campus Organizer Alicia O'Connell, the FMLA Awards criteria included: the level of impact the FMLA has on a campus, the effectiveness of feminist and pro-choice actions and events, success in fostering feminist campus leadership and the strength of executive and committee leaders and the faculty and staff.

"Everyone in the Brandeis FMLA has done a fantastic job this year ... it's really deserved by all the members of the club. I'm proud of everybody," Davidson said.

A list of award winners are announced in the most recent issue of Choice E-Zine and is posted online at feministcampus.org.