SOME 400 PERSONS, majority of them women, came last Thursday to hear feminist icon Gloria Steinem endorse Rollie Heath, the Democratic candidate for governor of Colorado.

Steinem spoke on behalf of Voters 4 Choice, a group that supports women’s rights in health care and, particularly, in abortion rights, an issue Steinem is passionate about.

Steinem went on to discuss her role in activism and how young people can be activists for social change.

“The secret to activism,” Steinem said, “is that everything we do matters. We have the ability to have a positive impact on the world around us. Each of us has enormous power. The power of saying yes and the power of saying no. And our power lies in the vote.”

She added, “Don’t get depressed, get mad,” Steinem said. “Media now is serving to disempower women, making them think their only emphasis should be on appearance and body image. This pattern is not new. But we don’t know there’s a problem because we’re all consumers and we’re just consuming whatever the media is giving us.”

During the question-and-answer segment, one student asked what young women of today can do for the feminist movement. Steinem responded that feminism today is taking on a new frontier, but young women and men can still be “entrepreneurs of social change.”

Heath spoke about his campaign, claiming he supports equal rights issues and abortion rights. “I am pro-choice and he [current governor Bill Owens] is not,” Heath said.