Based solely on the poster alone it is safe to say that this event was pretty awesome. This year differed slightly from past years, as this was the first year that focused on guest speaker, Meredith Osborn. Meredith, who is a SLU Counselor, gave a presentation about an hour long that focused on what it was to be strong and empowered, what it meant to be a feminist, how feminism and living for each other could be spread across campus, as well as ways we could power ourselves personally. She touched on many of the subjects we have discussed in class as she gave a brief synopsis of feminism. During her presentation we also watched a lengthy TEDtalk by Courtney Martin and a fantastically short TEDtalk that in 3 minutes explained how to create a movement. Martin discussed what it meant to be a feminist in today's generation, as well as the struggles of our society. Meredith touched on these videos and feminism by explaining that together as a united focus we need to begin caring for ourselves and caring for each other. I though she did a lovely job of showing that feminism is not just for the braless wearing hippy on a hype, but that it is something we all in fact should and most likely do believe in. With the aids of her personal experiences as well as the videos I thought it was an excellent presentation. Below I have attached a link to Martin's talk and Sivers about how to start a movement - I would highly recommend everyone to watch.
http://www.ted.com/talks/courtney_martin_reinventing_feminism.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html
Honestly I thought this event was really great, while I personally did not learn any shockingly new information - I was instead pleased to realized I was informed. Sitting amongst my fellow sorority sisters and close friends, I realized that a lot of women on campus (though a feminist at heart) do not really know what it means to be a feminist. I sat and watched the faces of those around me and saw that the illumination of empowerment, pride, and determination to move forward. Personally I believe feminism is something that is often overlooked on our campus; whether it be that this is a more conservative environment, that it is made of predominately white upper/middle class students, or whether we really have just accidentally overlooked the realities society faces. I was proud to be at this event as I thought it really did being to bring to light the ideals of the feminist movement. I am a feminist and I am glad that tonight I got to sit in a room of women and men (there was a large number of frat members present) as they too got to be exposed to feminism and positive thinking. It was a really fun event and I am sure I will soon be attending another WSTD event based on this experience alone.
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