What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
“Women’s History Month means a lot to me because it signifies how far women have come and what they have achieved,” said sophomore Kerry Kline. “This month is important because it gives us all a chance to celebrate women worldwide.”
To celebrate this occasion, many clubs and organizations on campus have created events to support women, one of which includes the new Women’s Empowerment Alliance Club.
“The Women’s Empowerment Alliance is a club focused on advocacy and education surrounding topics of women’s rights, equality, health and autonomy,” said junior Maria Pandolfo, president of the Women’s Empowerment Club.
“Our meetings focus on discussions relating to women’s issues, such as cervical health and bodily autonomy,” said Pandolfo. “We are currently holding a Period Product Drive for the Bridgeport community during the month of March.”
While some may think that this is only a club for women, anyone can join.
“The club is open to everyone,” said Pandolfo. “Men and women, and those who identify as non-binary. We have male members and we love having them.”
Some students believe that it is crucial to have a club like this on campus in order to support and empower other women.
“The reality is that Sacred Heart has a high percentage of women on campus,” said junior Kendall Decker, treasurer of the Women Empowerment Club. “Issues such as women’s health, rights and societal pressures create the need for a space where women can come together and empower each other not only on-campus but within our own communities as well.”
Other clubs, such as the English Club, are also holding events. In particular, the club will be reading excerpts of important female writers on March 21 in the Martire Forum.
Many students are looking forward to some of these events held by both the English Club and Women’s Empowerment Alliance Club in addition to other events held by some organizations on campus.
“It is great to be on a campus with various events that celebrate us as women,” said junior Kailee Welch. “It is important to have a place where women can feel empowered and have their voice heard.”
According to an email sent out by Dr. Kelly Marino, Coordinator of Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), there are even more future events coming up in March including a film screening, a History Annual lecture and an Intercollegiate event.
Men are also celebrating the month with Delta Tau Delta running their annual White Ribbon Campaign.
According to the White Ribbon Campaign website, “White Ribbon is the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity.”
“It is nice to see our campus celebrating women because it raises awareness to issues women are facing currently and how much more work needs to be done,” said Kline.
For students wanting to learn more about the impact of gender and sexuality, Sacred Heart offers a Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies minor (WGSS).
“The Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies minor is so important because it helps to build students’ professional skills. In WGSS classes, students consider different perspectives and experiences, important concepts such as intersectionality and how to work with people from varied backgrounds,” said Marino.
The course considers gender and sex and how such factors influenced people’s lives, as well as learning about activism and social justice issues.
“Students should become educated on some of the achievements of women in history because otherwise, we have a very one-sided narrative about the past, a narrative that provides no women role models and overlooks their important contributions,” said Marino. “A male-dominated narrative reinforces patriarchy and inequality, and distorts the reality that many different people contributed to building our society.”
