Members of Temple University’s Lunar Journal magazine kicked off their first meeting Tuesday by expressing appreciation for the club’s focus on exploring topics they feel are often overlooked in public conversation.
Rylee Mahnesmith, the club’s beloved president, launched the first meeting with snacks, refreshments, and a feminist reading by Audre Lorde. The members read and then discussed how the text resonated with them. Did they like it, dislike it, and why? The group engaged in a thoughtful conversation about the text’s meaning and how they interpreted it.
Following the discussion, the students reviewed and voted on whether other feminist pieces, created anonymously by magazine members, would be included in the Lunar Journal blog or magazine. During these conversations, many members reflected on how the club had impacted their college experience or, for new members, how they believed it would shape their time at Temple in the future.
“I’m new, but I think it’ll allow me to have a better understanding of Temple’s diverse student body and of myself. I think, overall, Temple is a pretty inclusive and open-minded community, but there’s always room for improvement. I think this club could help people experience other perspectives better,” new member Tori Kaufman shared with Her Campus.
Lunar Journal is a Temple University club and magazine with a primary focus on intersectional feminism. Intersectional feminism explores how different aspects of identity—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—intersect to shape unique experiences of both privilege and oppression. For students at Temple University, Lunar Journal provides a space that brings these various identities to light. The magazine’s mission is to give a voice to those who have been overlooked, fostering thoughtful conversations around identity and challenging social structures that often ignore marginalized experiences.
With the mission of voicing the opinions of those who have been silenced, Temple University’s first intersectional feminist literary magazine and digital blog aims to provide a platform for graduate and undergraduate students to share their creative feminist work in a safe space. Lunar Journal has both an annual literary magazine and a digital blog, where student members’ poetry, short creative nonfiction, short and flash fiction, photography, and visual art can be published online and in print. The club seeks out pieces that spark discussions about gender, sexuality, and identity.
Literary magazines like Lunar Journal play a crucial role in campus life by providing students a platform to express their creativity while engaging in important social discussions. On college campuses, these publications often serve as incubators for activism, helping to create a dialogue around social justice, identity, and inclusion. Lunar Journal, in particular, has embraced this tradition, using its intersectional feminist lens to empower students. By offering a space for writing, art, and discussion, the club contributes to a larger cultural conversation at Temple, one that encourages both personal expression and social change.
Creative expression has long been a powerful tool for challenging societal norms. Through poetry, fiction, and visual art, these students are pushing the boundaries of how identity and gender are understood, inviting audiences who read their work to rethink what they once thought they knew.
As Lunar Journal continues to grow, it aims to amplify underrepresented voices and foster a deeper understanding of diverse experiences within Temple’s community. Through creative expression, the magazine is paving the way for meaningful conversations about identity, inclusion, and change.