Last year, we featured that a conservative group, the Network of Enlightened Women, organized an annual “Gentlemen’s Showcase” to honor men who have acted chivalrously by, for example, opening the door for a woman or digging a woman’s car out of several feet of snow.

They are now seeking candidates for this year’s program.

For the month of March, the conservative-leaning Network of Enlightened Women, or NeW, will field submissions of true “college gentlemen” for its annual “Gentlemen’s Showcase.” At the end of the month, the male college student with the most votes on Facebook will receive a $500 scholarship and the woman who nominates him will win a dozen Georgetown cupcakes.

The contest is meant “to honor men who are respectful on campus and show men that we do appreciate them holding doors open and being respectful,” according to Alyssa Condrey, NeW’s director of programs, who is in her early twenties. “We have a national conference and other events in the summer but this is a great way to get men involved in a traditionally women-focused organization.”

NeW, based in Washington, D.C., with 22 chapters at universities nationwide, was founded in 2004 at the University of Virginia. For women like Condrey, who tabled at last week’s 2014 Conservative Political Action Conference, NeW provides an outlet for female college students who don’t identify with what members have called “radical feminism.”

“I think in a campus setting, you’re only presented one point of view,” said Condrey. “Our goal is to bring intellectual diversity to campus and see all sides of the spectrum. Not just the more liberal focus that’s often on college campuses.”

And what is so unappealing about ‘radical feminism’?

“A lot of times, more radical feminism has a victim mentality,” said Condrey. “They want to totally isolate and separate themselves from men. We don’t agree with that.”

Chandini Jha, 20, the president of Georgetown Democrats, calls herself a feminist but believes that the movement has been mischaracterized.

“The idea of ‘radical feminism’ — hating men and burning bras — that’s promoted by the media’s conception of feminism,” said Jha. “I consider myself a feminist but I don’t think of myself as a victim nor do I believe in misandry. That’s a stereotype. Feminism is about gender equality.”


 
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