International Women's Day
Goosebumps spread across my body as I listened to a fellow HPU student do a phenomenal delivery of slam poetry about race and gender roles. What's even better? The HPU student is a male. Every single woman in that room was focused in on his every word, snapping their fingers when they agreed with what he said (which was quite frequently). In this moment, I felt the power that a community can have in our world today.
This was my second year attending the International Women's Day (IWD) event at the YWCA of High Point, North Carolina and it was just as amazing as the first time I had the opportunity to witness a strong sense of community and empowerment in my own college town. Last year, my group project was centered on Bahrain and the struggles that women face on a daily basis in different cultures. This year, my own project focused on the #MeToo movement, and more specifically on the USA Gymnastics scandal with Larry Nassar and the judge who sentenced him, Rosemarie Aquilina.
My interest in a project of this nature was spurred by my love of Good Morning America, which is always on my TV in the mornings while I am getting ready. Over the last few months, I noticed a trend. On almost every single episode, there would be some mention of a sexual harassment claim, a sexual harassment defense, or another celebrity stepping forward to give their take on the #MeToo movement. I didn't know much about the movement when I first started listening to these news reports besides what it stood for, so I decided to educate myself. When the Larry Nassar scandal rose to the surface at the beginning of this year, my attention was drawn towards the case because of my interest in law. When I realized what Nassar's trial was about and how powerful it was becoming, I knew this would be the perfect project for me to focus on for both my class and for IWD to educate those who may not know about the movement and its importance.
That is when I learned about Rosemarie Aquilina, a circuit court judge in Michigan, who played the main role in ruling over Nassar's trial. Her decisions in court have become controversial, such as her decision to let over 150 girls speak about their encounters with Nassar, and her closing statement where she sentenced Nassar to 40-175 years in prison for his sexual abuse of hundreds of young women over the past few decades. I plan to dive deeper into this topic in a later post because it was a fascinating case that will set a precedent for cases in the future, which are becoming increasingly known to the public from the expansion of these movements and more voices coming forward to shed light on these perpetrators and their horrendous actions that will no longer be swept under the rug.
Back in October, I used my final project for my persuasive speaking class to raise money for the YWCA in my community. Before this, I had a little bit of background on what the YWCA does and what their values are, but after researching it for the project, I became a huge supporter of this organization. Their mission is to eliminate racism and empower women, which is exactly what their annual IWD event is centered around. The High Point community comes together on a night in March to celebrate and promote women and all that they contribute to our society through a variety of ways, such as local business promotions, student projects, dances and performances, and some of the most spectacular food I have ever had.
The past two times I have attended this event, I have paid close attention to the audience members and those who come out to perform or share their business or even just to cook the amazing food. Both times, I have been stunned by the tremendous support and love that these strangers have for one another. I can imagine that it would be hard to bring your family and kids to an event where you may not know anyone, but this is exactly why this night continues to be such a huge success, since the values promoted by the YWCA and IWD bring together women (and men!) of all different backgrounds. The attendees are able to walk around and learn about the different projects from students (some of ours included a lesson on women in heavy metal music and book-marks pertaining to feminist literature) while they converse with those from the area. This is extremely beneficial to me, as a student, because I don't often get off campus to experience and talk to those in my surrounding community, which is a tragedy when I think about it because I should be a lot more involved with my surroundings based on that I have been here for the past 3 years.
International Women's Day ignites the spark. It's events like this one that become an example for the rest of our world to follow since it is such an important day to recognize women and all that they have accomplished over the centuries. While we have made tremendous strides in a forward direction, we still have a long way to go, and I can say for myself that I will continue to be a leader for those whose voices are suppressed.
This was my second year attending the International Women's Day (IWD) event at the YWCA of High Point, North Carolina and it was just as amazing as the first time I had the opportunity to witness a strong sense of community and empowerment in my own college town. Last year, my group project was centered on Bahrain and the struggles that women face on a daily basis in different cultures. This year, my own project focused on the #MeToo movement, and more specifically on the USA Gymnastics scandal with Larry Nassar and the judge who sentenced him, Rosemarie Aquilina.
My interest in a project of this nature was spurred by my love of Good Morning America, which is always on my TV in the mornings while I am getting ready. Over the last few months, I noticed a trend. On almost every single episode, there would be some mention of a sexual harassment claim, a sexual harassment defense, or another celebrity stepping forward to give their take on the #MeToo movement. I didn't know much about the movement when I first started listening to these news reports besides what it stood for, so I decided to educate myself. When the Larry Nassar scandal rose to the surface at the beginning of this year, my attention was drawn towards the case because of my interest in law. When I realized what Nassar's trial was about and how powerful it was becoming, I knew this would be the perfect project for me to focus on for both my class and for IWD to educate those who may not know about the movement and its importance.
That is when I learned about Rosemarie Aquilina, a circuit court judge in Michigan, who played the main role in ruling over Nassar's trial. Her decisions in court have become controversial, such as her decision to let over 150 girls speak about their encounters with Nassar, and her closing statement where she sentenced Nassar to 40-175 years in prison for his sexual abuse of hundreds of young women over the past few decades. I plan to dive deeper into this topic in a later post because it was a fascinating case that will set a precedent for cases in the future, which are becoming increasingly known to the public from the expansion of these movements and more voices coming forward to shed light on these perpetrators and their horrendous actions that will no longer be swept under the rug.
Back in October, I used my final project for my persuasive speaking class to raise money for the YWCA in my community. Before this, I had a little bit of background on what the YWCA does and what their values are, but after researching it for the project, I became a huge supporter of this organization. Their mission is to eliminate racism and empower women, which is exactly what their annual IWD event is centered around. The High Point community comes together on a night in March to celebrate and promote women and all that they contribute to our society through a variety of ways, such as local business promotions, student projects, dances and performances, and some of the most spectacular food I have ever had.
The past two times I have attended this event, I have paid close attention to the audience members and those who come out to perform or share their business or even just to cook the amazing food. Both times, I have been stunned by the tremendous support and love that these strangers have for one another. I can imagine that it would be hard to bring your family and kids to an event where you may not know anyone, but this is exactly why this night continues to be such a huge success, since the values promoted by the YWCA and IWD bring together women (and men!) of all different backgrounds. The attendees are able to walk around and learn about the different projects from students (some of ours included a lesson on women in heavy metal music and book-marks pertaining to feminist literature) while they converse with those from the area. This is extremely beneficial to me, as a student, because I don't often get off campus to experience and talk to those in my surrounding community, which is a tragedy when I think about it because I should be a lot more involved with my surroundings based on that I have been here for the past 3 years.
International Women's Day ignites the spark. It's events like this one that become an example for the rest of our world to follow since it is such an important day to recognize women and all that they have accomplished over the centuries. While we have made tremendous strides in a forward direction, we still have a long way to go, and I can say for myself that I will continue to be a leader for those whose voices are suppressed.
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