College Celebrates Women’s History Month

03/02/2016 

A packed schedule with nearly 20 different events marks SUNY Cortland’s celebration of Women’s History Month throughout March.

This year’s events follow the theme “Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government.” Lectures, film screenings and a play production will address a wide range of critical political and social issues dealing with gender, civil rights, domestic violence, the environment and health-related concerns. All are free and open to the public. 

Overall, there are 18 different “caucuses” planned. A caucus involves a group of people with shared concerns within a political party or larger organization.

“The goal with all of these events is to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women in politics, public service and social activism throughout the month and beyond,” said Sally Dear-Healey, a visiting assistant professor of sociology/anthropology at SUNY Cortland and coordinator of women’s studies at the College.

SUNY Cortland’s Women’s History Month schedule continues with the following: 

• Tuesday, March 8: “Conversation on Democracy,” at 6 p.m. in the Beard Gallery of Main Street SUNY Cortland, located at 9 Main St.
• Wednesday, March 9: “Women Workers in the Upstate New York Suffrage Campaign,” a Sandwich Seminar with Karen Pastorello at 12:30 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge.
• Thursday, March 10: “Women’s Civil Rights in Education: How Title IX Finally Won its Rightful Seat at the Table, and Why the Legs Are Still So Wobbly,” a Sandwich Seminar with Wendy Murphy, from the Women’s and Children’s Advocacy Project at New England Law in Boston, at noon in Jacobus Lounge.
• Thursday, March 10: “From Explicit Equity to Sports to Rape to Explicit Subjugation: Violence Against Women,” the day’s second talk by Murphy, at 6 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 305.
• Tuesday, March 22: “Legal Advocacy and Grassroots Action: Saving Women, Babies, and Families One Case at a Time,” a talk by Lisa Sangoi, of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, at 7 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 104.
• Wednesday, March 23: “Compounding Harms, Women and Girls in the Criminal Justice System,” a Sandwich Seminar with Sangoi at 12:30 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge.
• Wednesday, March 23: “National Advocates for Pregnant Women: Legal and Ethical Issues in Case Studies,” Sangoi’s third talk on campus, at 3 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 2125.
• Thursday, March 24: “Speaking the Truth: U.S. Militarism and the Making of War Resisters,” a Sandwich Seminar with Jack Gilroy and Ann Tiffany, two peace activists, at noon in Jacobus Lounge.
• Thursday, March 24: A production of the play “The Predator” at 7 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium.
• Tuesday, March 29: “Violence Against Women,” a lecture led by Cathy Marston, from Free Texas Battered Women, at 4:25 p.m. in Old Main, Room G-10.
• Wednesday, March 30: “Standing Our Ground Against Battering and Freeing Survivors,” a Sandwich Seminar with Marston, at 12:30 p.m. in Jacobus Lounge.
• Wednesday, March 30: “Texas Battered Women’s Project,” a lecture led by Marston, at 1:50 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 2127.
• Thursday, March 31: “Wildcraft Versus State Craft: a Look at DIY Herbal Care,” a Sandwich Seminar with Colleen Kattau, associate professor of modern languages, at noon in the Old Main Colloquium.

Women’s History Month events are sponsored by the President’s Office, the Women’s Studies Committee, the Center for Gender and Intercultural Studies (CGIS), Women of Color, SUNY Cortland’s Title IX Office, Campus Artist and Lecture Series, and the College’s “Thinking About War and Peace Series,” which includes CGIS, the Center for Ethics, Peace and Social Justice, and the Africana Studies and Philosophy departments.

For more information on Women’s History Month efforts across the nation, visit the National Women’s History Project website. For more on SUNY Cortland’s events, contact Dear-Healey at 607-753-4762.