The March Mystique
putting a modern spin on women’s history month
It’s ladies night. Continually for the next 25 days.
This past Saturday, March 1, was the official starting date of Women’s History Month, a federally-recognized holiday in the United States. And while the inception of this female festivity falls on a weekend, the celebration did not truly get underway until Monday night at Columbia.
The evening before the committee’s opening reception, co-chairs Beth Anne Macaluso, BC ’09, and Ruhi Shamim, CC ’09, were still scrambling to get the word out.
“We’ve been advertising, Facebooking. Our advisors got us on e-mail listservs. In the past years, the reception has been well attended, so we’re excited,” Shamim says, sitting at a table piled with fliers and notebooks all related to the month’s planning.
Along with a committee of six Columbia and Barnard students, Shamim and Macaluso have been preparing for Women’s History Month since the beginning of this year. In the past, committee leaders have struggled to organize in the two short months between the start of the semester and March 1.
“There was lots of brainstorming last semester, but everything got going in early January,” Macaluso says.
This year, committee leaders are having an easier time publicizing because they say there is more campus awareness. This particular night, Shamim and Macaluso were finalizing plans for guest speakers, particularly for the closing reception. They were also busy taping fliers in Lerner in an attempt to ensure significant attendance for the evening.
“In the past, less attendance might have had to do with it being March, with midterms and spring break, and having to plan the event in such a short amount of time. But, in the past, there has not been as much campus awareness,” Shamim says.
Shamim and Macaluso both applied to be on the Women’s History Month committee after receiving e-mails from the College Activities Office at Barnard, and the Division of Student Affairs at Columbia, asking students to apply for the board.
“It’s something that sparked my interest,” Shamim says.
In particular, Shamim wanted to change the image of Women’s History Month, updating it to better suit the needs of college students, a challenge that she believes she and her committee members have accomplished. She calls the events “something that young women can relate to,” adding, “a lot of it is focused on contemporary women.”
Both Shamin and Macaluso believe the common historical approach to the month is decidedly passé, or at least not as relevant as it might have been in the past.
“That’s what we get in high school… Susan B. Anthony.” Shamim says.
Just how geared the month is to the college student, particularly those at Columbia, is exemplified by the foundation the committee chose to donate their auction earnings to. Right Rides for Women’s Safety is a program that offers women, transgendered people, and gender queer individuals free rides home on Saturdays from midnight to 3 a.m. in designated areas throughout the five boroughs.
“I think it appeals to young women in the city. It’s in the best interest of Columbia and Barnard students,” Shamim says.
The auction is the final event of the month’s celebration. Women in Hip Hop, a talk featuring three female MCs—Eternia, Siobhan Carter, and Bambi—is another event that speaks to the more contemporary spin the committee is attempting to put on the month.
“They are successful in the hip-hop industry, and I think all these women have strong female identities despite the industry. They don’t cater to the stereotypes,” Macaluso says, referring to the notoriously misogynistic rap realm.
Another similarly themed event is the Women in the Media panel, still in the planning stages.
“We are working on it now. Nothing is finalized. We hope to host influential women in the media who would talk about the portrayal of women in the media today,” Macaluso says.
“Different magazines cater to certain types of women. What is it like to be part of an industry that caters to certain female types? That’s the central question,” Shamim says.
While the committee members have formed a number of events on their own, the Women’s History Month committee has also reached out to other groups for co-sponsorship of events. With Hillel and the Muslim Students Association, the committee is hosting Lisa Gossels, documentary filmmaker. Her newest documentary, Imagining Peace, is about six girls in the Middle East who discuss their views on how to bring peace to their homeland. It will be screened, and a discussion with Gossels will follow. The event has an added twist the planners are proud of—Gossels actually plans to use student feedback in the final editing process for Imagining Peace.
“The film is currently a work in progress. So, it’s an amazing opportunity for students to give their opinions on the film,” Shamim says.
But the events for the month are not all serious in nature. The committee has been determined to keep the scheduling varied. The follow-up to the month’s opening reception was “Stitch and Bitch Study Break,” where students enjoyed free food and were given the opportunity to get their knitting needles going.
“Initially we thought, ‘Is that too girly?’ But we are not apologizing for the reality of women’s interests. We have to include those lighthearted things, too,” Shamim says.
The main goal for both Shamim and Macaluso is to be as inclusive as possible with their planning, whether the event is focused on hip-hop music or home crafts.
“I really hope that Columbia students don’t feel deterred. Just because this isn’t an all-female college shouldn’t take away from the fact that this is a nationally-acknowledged holiday. By no means are our events closed-off to male students. Diversity in audience is a priority,” Shamim says. \\\