Women’s History Month, was started in 1987 Santa Rosa by a former SRJC instructor, Molly Macgregor. Today it is celebrated nationally and SRJC will offer a variety of events and speakers throughout March.
“We have some amazing events taking place for Women’s History Month, and I hope students take advantage of it,” said Rhonda Findling, chair of the Women’s History Month Committee. “It’s a great learning opportunity.” There are 12 events this spring on the Santa Rosa and Petaluma campuses, with speakers ranging from New York filmmakers to newly paroled inspirational speakers.
“Iron Jawed Angels”
The event is the film “Iron Jawed Angels,” about women’s voting rights on March 1. The film talks about the suffragists led by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, who pushed for the Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing the right to vote.
“It’s a slice of American history that we don’t learn about. I never learned about Alice Paul,” Findling said. “We have the right to vote because of Alice Paul.”
The film reveals an important chapter of U.S. history that is typically unmentioned. After the film, SRJC instructor Alice Roberti will lead a panel discussion.
The film is at 6 p.m. in the Richard Call building room 697 on the Petaluma Campus.
Inside view of the California prison system
Linda Lee Smith spent 30 years of her life in prison where she obtained her bachelor’s, started her master’s and worked as a tutor; she will speak to SRJC students about the importance of education on March 5.
Smith, 59, was convicted of child abuse and neglect and sentenced to life in prison when she did not stop her abusive boyfriend from beating her child to death. Smith will share her story and talk to students about education.
Findling said Smith is an amazing person. In meeting her, Findling said she doesn’t seem as if she had been in prison for so many years.
“When she got out and finally got paroled after 10 tries, Chaffey College had to jump through hoops to hire her. She now works with the college outside of prison,” Ficdling said.
Smith will speak at 12:15 p.m. in Newman Auditorium.
She Flew Bombers
SRJC will have the opportunity to uncover a part of history that very few people hear about when Jeane Slone, author of “She Flew Bombers” and “She Built Ships During WWII,” visits SRJC on March 6.
Slone will give a lecture about the heart of the 1940s domestic war efforts and the impact of women during that time.
“It’s shedding light on a topic in history that we never learn about and it’s great that we get the opportunity to learn about that,” Findling said.
The event will be at 3:30 p.m. in Doyle Library room 4245.
History by the numbers
Director of Institutional Research KC Greaney will present an interactive history of remarkable women who have impacted SRJC on March 7.
“I am a feminist and a history major, and I’m interested in women’s role and interested in finding women’s role in society and how education facilitates social mobility,” Greaney said.
The event will be a PowerPoint presentation in which students can participate throughout, asking questions. Greaney said it’s a presentation and conversation.
The interactive lecture is at noon in the Bertolini Student Center. Students are encouraged to participate.
Renacimento de una Bruja: becoming a filmmaker
Local filmmaker Zemaya will make her way to SRJC March 8 to inspire young filmmakers to tell their own stories through filmmaking.
She was invited by Judy Helfand, adjunct instructor in Humanities. “Zemaya is a Two Spirit, Xicanaa Curandera and Bruja dedicated to the path of the Sacred, utilizing the Medicines of Nature and the guidance of the Ancestors,” Helfand said.
The event will consist of a brief overview of filmmaking and what it can offer to those who participate in it. A summary of the film will be followed by a question and answer segment.
Helfand said the first film is “Renacimiento de una Bruja” the story of a Two Spirit Xicana woman whose spiritual awakening leads her to become more deeply bonded to the earth and its medicines. The second short film, “Grace and Fierceness,” highlights the path of spiritual activist Afia Walking Tree, and her Journey with the Medicine of the Drum.
Helfand said students will gain an awareness of how knowledge is not always being honored by our educational system.
This event is at noon in the Richard Call building room 657 on the Petaluma campus.
Women of Islam
Breaking down stereotypes of Muslim women, a panel of two SRJC instructors and a local Muslim activist will speak about women and Muslim culture March 12.
The event will include interpretations of the Sharia law regarding women and how Muslim women enjoy equal rights and opportunities to be successful academically and professionally.
“Some people think it’s just a religion, but it’s a culture,” Findling said.
Women in Islam will be March 12 at 12:15 p.m. in the Newman Auditorium.
My so-called enemy
A New York filmmaker will spend time with SRJC and Sonoma State students as she opens eyes to the difficulties in the Middle East on March 13.
The film is about the human consequences of all conflicts through the eyes of six Palestinian and Israeli women who come together in the U.S. for the women’s leadership program Building Bridges for Peace.
Along with our the filmmaker Lisa Gossles, people from the organization Building Bridges for Peace will also visit and share their experiences.
The event is co-sponsored by the Associated Students Programs and Sonoma State.
“This film is great because you see how difficult it is in the Middle East. It’s not every day that we have a filmmaker from New York coming to SRJC,” Findling said.
The film is at noon In the Doyle Library room 4245.
“Miss Representation”
Women’s History Month will present the highly acclaimed film “Miss Representation,” which challenges the views of the female image portrayed in the media, on March 13.
“Every woman should see this movie. Four powerhouse instructors here are putting on this event and Karen Stanley,” Findling said.
Kinesiology and dance department faculty member, Karen Stanley, will present the film to students, with the help of EOPS Counselor Erlinda Peraza, history instructor Anne Donegan and psychology instructor Narmeen Nasseem, who will show students how the film relates to their classes.
Stanley said the film is about 90 minutes long and uncovers the glaring reality that we live in every day, how women are portrayed and underrepresented in the world, and how women are represented in the media with disparaging images that lead to women to have difficulty finding jobs today. The film shows many women from different walks of life and also features girls, boys and men. Men are not necessarily the perpetrators; they are also the victims. Society forces men to take the role so they feel victimized. “It’s a powerful film and everybody should see this film,” Findling said.
The film will begin at noon in the Bertolini Student Activities Center.
Celebrating her story
A fun event full of art, poetry and music will encourage creativity at SRJC, led by Kelley Rajala and Diana Ruiz of Women Global Leadership Initiative March 15.
This event capitalizes on women’s expression and social contributions, as well as a discussion of leadership and community involvement.
This event will be at noon in the Bertolini Student Activities Center.
An evening with Joan Frank
Local author Joan Frank will talk about her upcoming publication “Make it Stay” and how she became a published writer.
“It’s nice to have a published author coming here,” Findling said.
The event will be at 6 p.m. March 29 in the Carole Ellis Auditorium on the Petaluma Campus.
