Posted on 04/20/2004 4:04:32 PM PDT by qam1
Penn State's women's studies program brought together faculty, alumni and current students to celebrate their 25th anniversary in a two-day event, which ended yesterday at the Nittany Lion Inn.
Its purpose was to honor what the program has done throughout the years, said Carolyn Sachs, director of women's studies.
"It was more exciting than I expected it to be," Sachs said.
The celebration began on Sunday with dinner and opening remarks by faculty and staff of the program, followed by an alumni panel discussion.
Most of the alumni came to the event because they wanted to network and help out students in the program.
"Giving back ... it's such a joy to stay connected with this institution," said Mary Jo Romeo, a Penn State alumna who is currently the publisher of a magazine called Working Mother Media.
After the panel discussion, Jessica Weiner, author of A Very Hungry Girl -- a book about her experiences dealing with an eating disorder -- discussed how her experiences as a student at Penn State changed her into an "actionist," the term she prefers for people that take action in everyday life with feminist activists' perspectives.
"I wasn't investing in anything else but how many calories were in a bagel," Weiner said.
Going to therapy in the Ritenour Building was her turning point, she added.
"Girls in the room were just like me ... It clicked, and I got angry; I wanted to do something about it," Weiner explained.
Weiner, who is also a radio-show host for KFI-AM (640), then explained what she has done as an actionist, including founding Parallax, a media production company; landing a radio talk show hosting job; and writing a book to help women with eating disorders.
"I didn't have to change who I am," she said of her success.
Most people said they enjoyed Weiner's discussion and were inspired by her.
"She's a really motivational speaker; just hearing her speak makes me want to follow her example and be an actionist," Jaclyn Baksa (junior-women's studies) said.
The event continued yesterday morning with a feminism and women's health panel, and they discussed the changes throughout the years.
Different panels and discussions continued throughout the day.
The last panel was titled "Feminism, Women and Work," in which alumni, faculty and students discussed issues surrounding women in the work world today.
Romeo started the discussion by stating that everyone should reject "mommy wars." Working women and stay-at-home women should not be at "war," instead they should celebrate that they have a choice now, she said.
"The challenge of Gen-X moms is that they don't want to work that hard; they want a relationship with their child," she said. "Every woman should have a choice."
The panel then went on to discuss corporate problems dealing with women, with discussion being led mostly by Jane Moyer, another Penn State alumna and current vice president of Jackson Enterprises, a performance management and publishing company.
Moyer explained how maternity leave turnovers are the biggest expenses for companies.
"It's a little cheaper to give women another week to spend with their child than spend an extra grand [to employ someone else]," she said.
Another issue was taken to the panel by Jennifer Mittelstadt, assistant professor of history and women's studies. She explained why feminists should oppose the 1996 Welfare Reform Act, which said that if women are capable of working they should.
"Income either remains the same or goes lower, removes [women] from education ... Once off welfare, they lose medical insurance," Mittelstadt said.
After the last panel, the annual women's studies awards ceremony and dinner took place at the Hintz Alumni Center.
'Kinda like the sound of that.
I don't think we have much to fear, though. When people ask the "What do you want to be when you grow up" question she usually says "An arms dealer".
The looks are priceless.
That had to be the world's shortest celebration.
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