MFA in Writing Student Interviews Ms. Founder and Women's Rights Activist Gloria Steinem

Pacific University creative writing student Emily Sernaker MFA ’18 interviewed Ms. magazine co-founder and women’s rights activist Gloria Steinem about what’s been dubbed the hashtag that rocked the world and other pressing issues. Sernaker’s Q&A with Steinem appeared in Ms. magazine’s blog in October 2017.

A student in Pacific’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program, Sernaker talked to Steinem about the #MeToo campaign’s place in the history of the women’s rights movement. The social media campaign has inspired millions of people around the world to share their own stories of sexual harassment and assault in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against move producer Harvey Weinstein. Sernaker also spoke with Steinem about the strengths and limitations of social media, the need to believe survivors of sexual harassment and assault, the role of male allies and systemic shifts and solutions.

A writer and activist, Sernaker lives in New York City and visits Pacific twice a year for residences. In between, she works remotely with professional poets and journalists who are faculty members in the MFA in Writing program.

Sernaker is a regular contributor to Ms. online. Her work has also been published by GOOD Media (a global media brand and social impact company), the Huffington Post, literary journal District Lines and others.

Pacific's MFA in Writing program offers students a rigorous course of study with an emphasis on the creative process in which they work with award-winning writers who support and inspire students' emerging craft and voice.