Empowering Women of Ohio is heading into its seventh annual Empowered Women’s Week, featuring panel discussions, volunteer activities and keynote speakers.
The organization is hosting a diverse week of activities, including a comedy duo “Reformed Whores” and keynote speaker Sandra Fluke. There will also be a panel discussion with The Center of Law, Justice and Culture, titled “Gender, Protest and New Media” focusing on body politics. Miss Northwestern Ohio Kara Mitchell will also be presenting “Out in the Pageant World,” which will focus on her experience in LGBT rights, advocacy and being openly gay.
Lacey Rogers, president of Empowering Women of Ohio, said they are trying to play to a large audience in their planning.
“I hope to get people excited, get people interested,” Rogers said. “We try to really do a variety of events so that everyone can find something that sticks with them that they’re interested in.”
The theme of the week is on slut-shaming and rape culture. Treasurer Katie Dawes said after former Student Senate President Nick Southall’s tweet and the alleged rape on Court Street, they wanted to use this week to talk about those topics.
“We didn’t feel that the university had a good response to that or a good network of responses after that,” Dawes said. “So this is our approach to discussing rape culture and slut-shaming. I would really hope that people would get a revitalized conversation out of that, to understand that it’s still a problem.”
Dawes said she hopes to bring the conversation in an open and honest way she thinks could not be done through the university.
“We’re hoping to open the conversation up as a student-led discussion, not necessarily university-led discussion,” Dawes said. “We’re bringing in some more brash conversation topics when it comes to rape culture so what we’re hoping to bring to the university is a more straightforward conversation than the university could offer because they’re a bureaucratic institution.”
Rogers said that she hopes to reinforce that students can make change, whether they think so or not.
“I think a lot of times, people are like, ‘I’m just one person, I can’t do things,’ ” Rogers said. “I think one thing is that you just have to be passionate and driven to be able to make change or to put on a whole week of events, that’s the thing that drives me personally. Just letting people know that if there’s something that you want to change, you have the power to do that.”
What: Special Exhibit: “Empower” by artist Jean G. Farmer
When: All week long
Where: Third floor Alden Library
Admission: Free
What: Bitchin’ in the Kitchen
When: 11 a.m., Saturday
Where: 18 N. College St.
Admission: Free
What: Feminist Crafternoon
When: 12 p.m., Sunday
Where: LGBT Center, Baker University Center 354
Admission: Free
What: Panel on Gender, Protest and New Media
When: 4 p.m., Monday
Where: Baker University Center 231
Admission: Free
What: Reformed Whores
When: 7 p.m., Tuesday
Where: Baker Theater
Admission: Free
What: Kara Mitchell, “Out in the Pageant World”
When: 6 p.m., Wednesday
Where: Baker University Center 1804 Lounge
Admission: Free
What: Brown Bag Discussion
When: 12 p.m., Thursday
Where: Women’s Center, Baker University Center 403
Admission: Free
What: Keynote by Sandra Fluke
When: 7 p.m., Thursday
Where: Baker University Center 240
Admission: Free
What: Support Our Survivors Walk
When: 5 p.m., Friday
Where: TBA
Admission: Free
What: Support Our Survivors Walk After-party
When: 6 p.m., Friday
Where: Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St.
Admission: Free
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