March 14, 2003

March events to honor women's history

by Vanessa Dennis, A'03, Intern in the Offices of Public Affairs and Publications

It has been over 10 years since a presidential proclamation carried the directive to expand the weeklong celebration of women's history into the entire month of March. Yet these spring events garner still more enthusiastic responses each year as women across the globe from museums, organizations, libraries, youth centers, and educational facilities collaborate to refresh America's memory about some of our most significant female leaders.

To help capture the attention of the public sphere here in New Orleans, the Women's Resource Center is sponsoring a vast array of multicultural events that will serve as a foundation for panel discussions and reflection. Some of today's most imperative issues will be illustrated by the outspoken voices of women who are authors, activists, and leaders.

One event, a speech and slide show given by activist and humanitarian Penny Rosenwasser, is described by Women's Resource Center Director Susanne Dietzel, Ph.D., as an example of an effectual way in which women are trying to communicate with each other as Israeli and Palestinian women.

Rosenwasser, a Jewish-American advocate of peace among Israelis and Palestinians and author of the acclaimed book of interviews, Voices from the 'Promised Land,' will give an account of her visit last summer to Israel. She will expose the raw truths of failed negotiations between peace activists and soldiers in her vivid portrayal of marches led by Palestinians and actions taken by Israeli women activists proselytizing peace to a land embroiled with dispute. Rosenwasser's presentation will be in Nunemaker Auditorium on Monday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.

March 25 is reserved to highlight the much-applauded debut of local author Olympia Vernon, whose first novel, Eden, has been praised by the New York Times and The Times-Picayune. Picayune book editor Susan Larson writes, "Vernon's exquisite, original language is poetry. She is a fearless writer, as unafraid of the graphic sexual image as she is of the tender gesture."

Her talk begins at 7:30 p.m. in Nunemaker Auditorium.

Another recent addition to the month's event is Amy Selig, L'88, executive director of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Houston Affiliate. Selig presides over a foundation that works to eradicate breast cancer by advancing research, screening, education, and treatment. She will be a part of a panel discussion at noon at the School of Law on March 27 and will later speak at 3:30 p.m. in the Women's Resource Center, Mercy 103.

Other events were held in early March to discuss the meaning of feminism and how it shapes the lives of many Loyola women. A forum with the motto "The F-Word: What Feminism is All About," brought together students and faculty on March 12 in the Women's Resource Center. The event provide a platform to openly discuss feminism and dispel some of the common erroneous beliefs individuals are apt to glean from society about what it means to be a feminist.

"Feminism is often discredited or seen as something that divides the sexes instead of allowing the lines of communication to be open about structured inequality," Dietzel stresses. "This panel is designed to enlighten those who don't know about feminism or have misconceptions because our culture is very antifeminist."

Although the panel helped to challenge existing notions of women's roles in society, an event that preceded the discussion allowed for people to bond through the chiming in of voices across the globe.

On March 3, men and women alike gathered in the Palm Court for the Lysistrata Project, a worldwide theatre event for peace. The reading, sponsored by Loyola's Department of Classical Studies and the Women's Resource Center, was comprised of students and faculty reciting a translation of Aristophanes' famous Greek play that features women protesting war. It was a worldwide event consisting of 818 reads in 50 countries.

At the close of March, Dietzel hopes women will have a more sophisticated perception of women in the past, present, and future. She says it is the intention of Women's History Month to not only honor women from the past, but also to encourage today's females to take pride in being a woman.

"A lot of women are afraid to claim feminism," she explains. "They might be afraid they'd be called a lesbian or a man-hater. Through these events we hope to shed light on the accomplishments women have made to culture, society, and history and hopefully alter the misconceptions of feminism altogether."