Evolve celebrates feminism in witch history while honoring Julia King

The president of the campus club, Evolve, dedicates A Very Witchy History event meeting to an old friend who inspired her interest in witches and their connection to feminism.

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By Elizabeth Munoz

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Chaffey's feminist club, Evolve, hosted an event event Feb. 16, 2023 in dedication of club president Margaret Hernandez's late friend, Julia King. The longtime friend of club president Margaret Hernandez passed away in Feb. of this year. King inspired Hernandez to explore her witchy side and was at the center of the one-hour event meeting.

As a strong female influence, King was also a feminist. Club Evolve is Chaffey's on campus group that meets in support of feminism. They meet every Thursday to explore the ideas that promote change and courage to move forward with this changing world.

The late Julia King / Photo provided by Margaret Hernandez

(right) Liliana Arredondo and (left) Margaret Hernandez posing in their witchy outfits / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Club Evolve held The Very Witchy History event meeting, which welcomed anybody attending to wear costumes to celebrate the involvement witches have with feminism. Most embraced the event by wearing black.

Attendees of the event dressed up in costumes showing off their witchy side / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Vice President Liliana Arredondo headed the event meeting with a presentation. She began by setting the mood with some music. As she discussed the history of witches, the obscurity of the practices used to determine a woman a witch caused heads to shake.

Members watch as Liliana Arredondo introduces herself and begins her presentation / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Between patriarchal protection and witch tropes, the meeting expressed how witchy women appear in both society and entertainment.

The speaker has the group's attention / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

More excitement builds as the presentation continues on with facts about feminism / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

After the presentation, attendee Jaslynn Vargas shared about her grandmother's time as a witch in Spain. After stating, "I have a strong relationship with God," she expressed her reason for attending saying, "I like being informed, it's not all evil, there is a yin and a yang."

Jaslynn Vargas openly describes her family's history and connection to witches / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Hernandez shared about her family's "nobody would find love" curse. Her grandmother did not like anybody in the family and only showed favor to her because they share the same name. She says "I wouldn't say I am a witch, I have dabbled, I like to stay in touch with my roots." She expressed her Latin background is "important in a cultural sense" explaining "western ideals present us as uncivilized."

Hands go up when the group is asked who has a story about their witchy past or present / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Margaret Hernandez explains her involvement with witches / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Others shared their connection to witches, explaining how it was a form of rebellion and stemmed from curiosity. Many of the attendees that are not yet part of the club shared their stories about how they began exploring their witchy side as teenagers.

Smiles form when another attendee tells a ridiculous story about men's reactions to girls who follow their horoscope / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

The event meeting continued with stories about astrology, double standards and workplace insults. The group became amused by the discussion about relationships between men and women in a workplace setting. Smiles formed and hands went up quickly when asked whose faced a similar experience.

One attendee humored by the hypocrisy of the men she works / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

After the discussions, Arredondo asked everybody to get their phones out and scan the QR code on the screen. She prepared a trivia game for the event to further entertain the club members and other attendees. Sem, Mika, Mya and other top scorers received a custom-made sticker for their participation.

Scanning the QR code was a must for participating in the witch history trivia game / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

These attendees show off their custom-made sticker prize awarded to the highest scorers in the trivia game / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

The basket was donated by: Advisor, Dr. Song, Liliana (VP), Ashlynn (Secretary) and Briana (Evolve Member) / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz

Club Evolve members and attendees of A Very Witchy History gather for a group photo / Photo by Elizabeth Muñoz