Eastern Celebrates Women's History Month

 Written by Sarah Swann 

Willimantic, CT. -   The Women's Center at Eastern Connecticut State University will present numerous events in March in honor of Women's History Month.  The public is invited.  Admission is free.  

            On March 8 from 9 a.m. to 5p.m., the Women's Center will present an exhibit in the front lobby of the Student Center that will document 44 years of achievements of the National Organization for Women, the largest organization of feminist activism in the United States.               

            At 1 p.m. on March 12, a "listening party" will be held in the Women's Center, located in the Arthur L. Johnson Wing of the Student Center. The event will focus on "Speak!", a media collective CD featuring songs, poetry and spoken word about the struggles of women of color, including Black Amazon and Little Light.  Refreshments will be served.         

             At 5:30 p.m. on March 15, Gail Carson Levine, author of children's and young adult literature, will read and talk about her body of work in the Paul E. Johnson Sr. Community Conference Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library. Levine is the author of "Ella Enchanted," a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Some of Levine's other books include "Fairest"; "Dave at Night," an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; "The Wish: The Two Princesses of Bamarre"; and the six "Princess Tales" books.  This event is sponsored by the Visiting Writers Series of the English Department.  A book signing and refreshments will follow.   

            At 3 p.m. on March 17, Eastern's student organizations M.A.L.E.S. and F.E.M.A.L.E.S. will discuss the continued degradation of women in mainstream music lyrics and in video in Room 110 of Webb Hall.  The talk will address the idea of women's bodies as commodities and the intersection of gender, culture, economics and privilege.  The presentation will ask, "How can students proactively address tolerance towards misogyny?"

        At 12:30 p.m. on March 18, Lynn Pasquerella, incoming president of Mount Holyoke College, will speak on Women's Leadership in the Student Center Theatre.  Pasquerella will share her story of growing up in Killingly, CT, in a single-parent household; attending Quinebaug Valley Community College; and her road to academic achievement despite the odds.  Pasquerella earned her doctorate in philosophy from Brown University in 1985.  Her current work focuses on women's leadership in the U.S. and globally.  Projects include women's land rights in Kenya; the role of non-violent civil disobedience in Columbia; and women's challenges as patients and providers in an era of health care reform.  

           At 3 p.m. on March 31 in the Student Center Theatre, Dina Temple-Raston, National Security and FBI correspondent for National Public Radio, will address America's fight on terrorism.  Temple-Raston is the author of "In Defense of Our America" and "The Jihad Next Door."  The lecture is part of Eastern's University Hour series. 

            At 6 p.m. on March 31 in the Paul E. Johnson Sr. Room in the J. Eugene Smith Library, recipients of the Second Annual Ella T. Grasso Distinguished Service Award will be honored for their efforts to advance the rights of women and gender inequality.

For more information please contact Raja Staggers-Hakim, coordinator of Eastern's Women Center by calling (860) 465-4313 or emailing staggershakimr@easternct.edu.