Mississippi State University’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Office of Survivor Support are hosting a tribute to Women’s History Month at 11 a.m. on March 23.
The tribute is called You Are Appreciated, We Are Inspired and encourages participants to write letters of appreciation to female faculty, staff and friends who have helped or inspired them during their years at MSU.
Staff and students will run the event on the Drill Field. The event’s rainy-day location is the first floor of the Colvard Student Union.
John Michael VanHorn, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, has worked closely with the Office of Survivor Support to organize this event. VanHorn said he has noticed a lack of appreciation and recognition for people on campus.
“There are so many people I appreciate at Mississippi State, and I never say that I appreciate them,” VanHorn said. “I think a lot of people are like that.”
VanHorn said he hoped the event will encourage people to show their appreciation for female faculty and staff for more than one day out of the year.
“We don’t recognize people when we should,” VanHorn said. “This is a nudge to get people to do that more often.”
Alongside other staff and students, VanHorn will be in attendance on the Drill Field to encourage pedestrians to stop by to write letters of their own.
Abby Buck, panhellenic coordinator for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, will also be helping out on the Drill Field. Buck said this event is centered around uplifting women who feel under-appreciated.
“Being a woman in a man’s world can be tough. It’s intimidating, and a lot of times, you have to work a lot harder,” Buck said. “You don’t realize how much the women do here at Mississippi State. We wanted students to show their appreciation and celebrate these women, and we found a way to facilitate that.”
Buck said she hopes women and students alike will benefit from taking part in this activity.
“I hope that the women on our campus feel appreciated,” Buck said. “I also want students to see the impact they can make by being kind to others.”
Buck said she planned to write several letters of her own addressed to female colleagues, professors and role models. Buck said she wanted participants to collectively write between 100-200 letters for event organizers to hand deliver to the women on campus.
Cassidy Pate, the president of MSU’s National Panhellenic Council, said she has plenty of deserving recipients in mind, with her supervisor Buck being one of them.
“She has stepped into a new role this year and has done an incredible job,” Pate, a junior educational psychology major said. “I appreciate her and her willingness to be there for us whenever we need her.”
Pate said being a type two on the enneagram chart is what attributes to her love for gestures of appreciation and recognition. Enneagram numbers aside, Pate said she believes all the women on campus are entitled to appreciation.
“These women who work with us and help us every day need to know that they are appreciated, and they do inspire us,” Pate said. “I think about all the women who have impacted me on campus, and it’s about time to honor them. To truly let them know how much they have impacted me and inspired me is such a special thing.”
Pate said the event would be an important opportunity to spread love to women.
“It’s important to always spread love and appreciation,” Pate said. “By doing activities like this, we have the opportunity to spread so much more love across our campus.”
Pate said she hopes for a large turnout so that many letters may be sent off to female faculty and staff. Above all, Pate said she hopes this event allows for everyone to feel and spread love and appreciation.
MSU is hosting Building Our Future events in honor of Women’s History Month until March 30. Further questions or concerns can be directed to the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life and the Office of Survivor Support.