As March begins, so do the celebrations for Women’s History Month.

One group that helped select speakers is the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.

The FMLA, an organization under the Feminist Majority Foundation, promotes equality for everyone, with an emphasis on gender equality.

“[We] try to celebrate women’s history all year long,” said Cicely Schramm, vice president of the group. “We don’t plan specific activities just for Women’s History Month.”

The group is planning to have more educational speakers this semester, including a speaker from ACCESS, a center that provides support, information and advocacy for sexual assault and domestic abuse victims and provides shelter for women and their children attempting to escape the abuse, said Schramm, junior in genetics.

The group also has a food drive for the center every semester, she said.

“The main focus of the group is educating ourselves and the campus,” Schramm said. “We try to get the issues out there and let people know what’s going on.”

The group attempts to be seen as people dedicated to equality and equal values for everyone, said Abby Hansen, president of FMLA and one of the members of the committee which helped choose speakers for Women’s History Month.

“We try to . acknowledge the values of women and encompass the values of everyone,” said Hansen, senior in women’s studies.

FMLA has been an organization for three years and has approximately 200 people on its mailing list, Schramm said.

Hansen said she believes FMLA is challenging others to open their minds.

“We as members are here as a group because we want to challenge stereotypes, because there’s still that negative view of feminism,” Hansen said.

The majority of people are feminists, Hansen said, because the majority of people believe in equal rights for everyone.

“There’s been a continuing trend in feminism to not be about gender equality specifically, but in equality in all the senses,” Schramm said.

“We try to promote that as well.”

FMLA believes women should be supported regardless of what they do, whether it be choosing to be a housewife or to work outside the home, Hansen said.

“We embrace feminism because it’s an opportunity for so much change in the world — it’s equal values and respect for all people,” Hansen said. “Women do such a variety of things, and as long as we don’t value those things we do, we’re not getting anywhere.”