March is Women's History Month
March 02, 2018
Women students in the war-training program at the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary (predecessor to Old Dominion University) working on an airplane in the 1940s.
By Betsy Hnath
In celebration of Women's History Month, Old Dominion University will host a variety of events throughout March including the President's Lecture Series with award-winning television journalist Tamron Hall, the 10th annual "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes," a women's self-defense workshop and a lecture by award-winning author Remica Bingham-Risher.
Hall has hosted "Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall" on Investigation Discovery since 2013. She also led a "Guns on Campus: Tamron Hall Investigates" special in which she interviewed two survivors with different viewpoints in the debate on campus safety.
"Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" is an international initiative to help raise awareness about the effects of sexualized violence against women that stems from the old saying: "You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes."
Sexual violence is a significant problem in the United States. According to a national survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1 in 5 (18.3 percent) women and 1 in 71 men (1.4 percent) report experiencing rape at some time in their lives.
Heels will be available for participants to borrow at ODU's Women's Center.
Women's History Month events:
- Women's Climb Night: Super "Her"oes March 12, 4-7 p.m. - Student Recreation Center. Bring your adventurous spirit for a women-only climb of the rock wall in a fun and friendly atmosphere. No experience is necessary. Must bring insurance information to participate;
- The Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The intersection of female sexual abuse and the juvenile justice system Potomac Room March 12, 7 p.m. - Potomac Room Webb Center. A talk by Rebecca Burney of Equal Justice Works Fellow with Rights4Girls. Too often young girls of color who suffer abuse end up in the juvenile justice system rather than receiving the support they need to heal and recover. Come learn what you can do to end gender-based injustice;
- President's Lecture Series, Tamron Hall March 15, 7 p.m. - Ted Constant Convocation Center Big Blue Room. Before she joined Investigation Discovery, Hall was co-host of the third hour of NBC News' "TODAY" show and the anchor of "MSNBC Live with Tamron Hall." She received the 2015 Edward R. Murrow Award for Reporting: Hard News in Network Television for her segment on domestic violence in TODAY's "Shine A Light" series. She also served as a correspondent for the NBC News special "The Inauguration of Barack Obama," which won an Emmy for outstanding live coverage in 2010;
- Remica Bingham-Risher, Starlight & Error March 15, 12:30 - 2 p.m. - Virginia Beach Center, Lecture Hall 244. Distinguished guest Remica Bingham-Risher, a native of Phoenix, Arizona; a Cave Canem fellow; and "Affrilachian" poet. She is the author of "Conversion" (Lotus, 2006), winner of the Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award; "What We Ask of Flesh" (Etruscan, 2013), shortlisted for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; and "Starlight & Error" (Diode, 2017), winner of the Diode Editions Book Award. Her work also has appeared in The Writer's Chronicle, New Letters, Callaloo and Essence, among other journals. She is director of quality enhancement plan initiatives at Old Dominion University;
- Green Dot Bystander Training March 22 & 23, 5 - 7:30 p.m. - Executive Dining Room - Webb Center. Through faculty and staff presentations and student bystander training, Green Dot shows how each of us can choose to replace moments of potential harm (red dots) with moments of safety and support (green dots). Ultimately, ODU's Green Dot iniative fosters a campus climate where all Monarchs can pursue their college dreams feeling respected and valued. Please visit Green Dot registration.
- Women's Self-Defense Workshop March 24, 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. - Norfolk Karate Academy. One in five college women will be sexually assaulted during their undergraduate years. The workshop is intended to empower female students with easy techniques for self-defense that can be used to escape a dangerous situation. There is no fee to attend. Please RSVP by March 10th to womenctr@odu.edu;
- Walk A Mile in Her Shoes March 27, 12:30 - 1:30 p.m., Kaufman Mall. Do your part to stop sexual and relationship violence against women. Slip on a pair of heels to show your fellow Monarchs that violence is simply unacceptable. Women are encouraged to attend wearing sneakers to cheer on their male allies. To register as a group or individually, please visit https://givepul.se/qaowm; and
- ODU Presents: Kimberly Bryant, Founder of Black Girls CODE March 29, 7 p.m., Ted Constant Convocation Center. Kimberly Bryant is the founder and executive director of Black Girls CODE, a non-profit organization dedicated to introducing girls of color to the fields of technology and computer science with a concentration in entrepreneurial concepts. Since 2011, Bryant has helped Black Girls CODE grow from a local organization in the San Francisco Bay area to an international organization with chapters across the United States and Johannesburg, South Africa. She has earned a reputation as a thought leader in the area of tech inclusion and has spoken on the topic at events such as TEDx Kansas City, the Big Ideas Festival and SXSW. Bryant has received many honors, including the American Ingenuity Award in Social Progress from the Smithsonian and a Champion of Change designation from the White House. She was recently named to Elle magazine's power list of women in technology.
