In March 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, the U.S. Congress designated the month of March as Women’s History Month. Now, 33 years later, Women’s History Month is in full swing of celebration at Ohio University.
The OU Women’s Center and other campus organizations are working together to create a full schedule of events for people to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Everything from panels of women leading discussions to film screenings at the Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St., will be featured for people to participate in during the month of March.
The film screening on March 24 will be Suffragette, a story about a working wife and mother who joins the United Kingdom’s suffragette movement. The screening will be free and will feature a discussion about suffragettes and women with OU professor Carey Snyder.
Snyder, an associate professor of English, has a scholarly focus in suffrage literature and will discuss with the film’s audience how the film breaks the norms of separate narratives by focusing on working class women, rather than middle and upper class women, and how the film compares to other suffrage narratives.
“I think women’s contributions through history get overlooked, so I think pausing and remembering some of the pioneers who broke all kinds of barriers is important,” Snyder said.
Other important events include a speech from Jessica Lynch, a motivational speaker who will share her story of service and overcoming obstacles; a panel discussion exploring minority women’s mental health and stigmas surrounding them; a salary negotiation workshop sponsored by the American Association of University Women; and even a sash-making workshop prior to the screening of Suffragette for people to wear while they watch the film.
Geneva Murray, director of the OU Women’s Center, wants people to understand that even though the month and its programming is meant to celebrate women’s history, it’s also important to look at women’s accomplishments today.
“Not only is it a time where we reflect on the accomplishments of women throughout history, but also for us to utilize those experiences to inform what it is that we are doing today,” Murray said. “So as much as people can find programming that reflects back to them or things that they can do in their careers or in their lives, that’s really important.”
Other groups, such as OU Libraries, American Association of University Women, Department of History, League of Women Voters and Veterans Center, all have a hand in planning and sponsoring the programming.
Through the extensive collaboration with other groups to make the programming for the month, Murray has put a huge focus on representation for all women.
“We believe that everyone, including people who don’t identify as women, should participate in Women’s History Month because we can all learn from women’s history,” Murray said.
Students are looking forward to participating in the events to learn more about women’s history.
Andrea Gapsch, a junior studying English, appreciates the large amount of programming set up for International Women’s History Month.
“It’s really important to celebrate Women’s History Month because for so long, it’s gone overlooked, and a lot of experiences haven’t been researched or even explored at all,” Gapsch said.
Not only does Murray encourage everyone to participate in Women’s History Month, but she also wants people to understand that the Women’s Center does programming like this throughout the year. There are always opportunities to celebrate and elevate women through the Women’s Center.
“As much as we want people to come out and support Women’s History Month, we want people to know that we are also here all year in January, February, August, et cetera,” Murray said.
One of the ways to participate outside of the month is through the International Women’s Art Installation on April 13 in Baker Ballroom. The exhibition is annual, having featured pieces of sexual and domestic violence, examining women’s experiences within the media and women in various countries and cultures.
Murray hopes people come to the art installation to continue the dialogue and their own personal thoughts about women’s experiences in months outside of the designated celebration time.
For more information about Women’s History Month and other programs through the Women’s Center, visit the OU Women’s Center website.
