A public forum in honor of Women’s History Month was held March 4 in The Colvard Union Small Auditorium.
The discussion, led by history professor Sara M. Evans of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and Crystal Lander, director of campus programs for the Feminist Majority Foundation, covered the societal contributions of women from the 1960s to the present.
The Women’s Studies Program, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center and the departments of history, political science, sociology, anthropology and social work sponsored the forum.
“The forum is about the historical involvement of the women in politics and where we are today,” Women’s Studies Program director Lynne Cossman said. “We held the forum each year as part of Women’s History month and also to raise awareness about the Women’s Studies Program.”
Evans, author and history professor, brought a historical outlook on the contributions of women to the discussion. She spoke of the rise of the feminist movement in the late ’60s and early to mid-’70s.
“We call this time period the Golden Years of the feminist movement because it was groundbreaking. Women were beginning to talk to one another and find similar wants and desires amongst them,” Evans said in her lecture.
Evans ended her lecture with the new surge of feminism in the early ’90s, and allowed Lander to pick up where she left off. Lander’s lecture, titled “The Women’s Movement: ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) Until Today,” encouraged women to get involved in fighting for their civil rights.
“Women didn’t always have a choice. We have a choice in what kinds of decisions we make, what we believe,” said Lander.
Lander also encouraged the students at MSU to create a campus group that would support the rights of women and the underprivileged. Lander informed the audience that there are 125 campus groups across the nation that are student-run.
A women’s march in Washington, D.C., April 25 is planned to make women’s voices heard, Lander said.
Both lecturers encouraged women to become registered voters and vote in the coming election.
“I don’t feel as though women or female students know the power of their own voice. We can achieve things if we just mobilize,” Evans said.
The forum ended with a question and answer session with audience. Several in the audience participated in this part of the forum. A meet and greet followed.
“I greatly enjoyed the lectures,” Hannah Britton, assistant professor of political science, said. “I liked the historical and contemporary aspects of it, that there was an academic and an activist to speak.”
Crystal Lander is planning to return to campus to talk to students about organizing a campus group, Cossman said. She also said that the Women’s Studies Program is going to do more to advertise directly to the students by going to the women’s studies classes.