Women’s History Month, held annually in March, will include several events at the University of Minnesota, Crookston that spotlight the theme for 2012: Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment. All area women are especially invited to attend the Women’s History Month events on campus and they are free.
Friday, March 23 will feature a “Celebrating U Women’s Expo” with a focus on Empowering Women in Business. There will be women’s stories of entrepreneurship from 5-6 p.m., vendors, along with a fashion and prom show. The event will take place in the Sargeant Student Center from 4-7 p.m. There will be refreshments served as part of the evening and all area women are invited.
On Tuesday, March 27, women will take over the Sports Center from 7 – 9 p.m. with activities including Pilates and yoga. “Women’s Night in the Sports Center” recognizes the historic Title IX legislation. The equal opportunity to learn, taken for granted by most young women today, owes much to Title IX of the Education Codes of the Higher Education Act Amendments. Passed in 1972 and enacted in 1977, it prohibited gender discrimination by federally funded institutions. It has become the primary tool for women’s fuller participation in all aspects of education from scholarships, to facilities, to classes formerly closed to women. For more, visit www.nwhp.org/whm.
On Thursday, March 29, Women’s History Month will conclude with “Women taking the Lead” featuring Prairie Rose Seminole as the keynote speaker. Sponsored by the Circle of Nations Indigenous Association (CNIA) at the University of Minnesota, Crookston, this special event will be at 7 p.m. in the Prairie Room in the Sargeant Student Center.
Prairie Rose Seminole is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota. She served as the immediate past chair of the Fargo Human Relations Commission. She is a speaker and trainer with the White House Project, a nonpartisan women’s leadership initiative and trainer for the Native American Leadership Program with Wellstone Action. Currently, she is the director for the Native American Center Project in Fargo, N.D. For more information, visit www.prairieroseseminole.com.
From March 19-30, a display highlighting “Women in Math and Science” will be available for viewing in the large display case near the UMC Bookstore.
Members of the Women’s History Month committee at the U of M, Crookston are Lisa Samuelson, chair; Alysa Tulibaski; Vicki Svedarsky; Lisa Loegering; Stacey Grunewald; Laurie Wilson; Ashley Crowe; Kristie Jacobsen; and Elizabeth Tollefson. President Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as the first National Women’s History Week. Later, in 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month, and March is now National Women’s History Month. For more information, visit www.nwhp.org.
