Submitted by Saint Martin’s University
LACEY, Wash. – A poetry slam performance and series of student reflections on inspirational women will be featured at this year’s Celebration of Women’s History at Saint Martin’s University, taking place Monday, March 4.
The two-hour celebration, held annually to recognize March as Women’s History Month, will begin at 6 p.m. in the Trautman Student Union Building on the Saint Martin’s campus, 5000 Abbey Way SE. The celebration is coordinated by Saint Martin’s Programming Specialists (PROS), a student organization that is part of the University’s Office of Campus Life. Assorted hors d’oeuvres and desserts will be provided, and the event is free and open to the public, as well as the campus community.
“We hope this event will empower women to embrace their individual identities and talents while supporting the women around them,” says Laurel Dube, assistant director of campus life. “It’s important to look at the progress women have made in our society, especially in light of the past oppression women have faced and overcome. This event also gives us the opportunity to acknowledge the oppression women continue to experience today.”
Oklahoma poet Lauren Zuniga, considered to be one of the top poetry slammers in the nation, will perform. Unlike formal, literary poetry readings, poetry slam is a competitive event in which poets are given three minutes to perform a selection of their original work. Of Zuniga’s poetry style, Dube says, “She can speak as a woman based on her own experiences, as well as from her observations of what other women have experienced, and she presents it in a beautiful and artful way.”
Several Saint Martin’s students will also voice their own thoughts on women who have influenced their lives. Although the celebration will underscore the achievements and challenges of women, men are highly encouraged to attend, according to Dube. “The event provides an opportunity for both men and women to reflect on the women who are in their lives and appreciate those women’s impacts on their lives,” she says.
Saint Martin’s University is an independent four-year, coeducational university located on a wooded campus of more than 300 acres in Lacey, Washington. Established in 1895 by the Catholic Order of Saint Benedict, the University is one of 14 Benedictine colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and the only one west of the Rocky Mountains. Saint Martin’s University prepares students for successful lives through its 23 majors and seven graduate programs spanning the liberal arts, business, education, nursing and engineering. Saint Martin’s welcomes more than 1,100 undergraduate students and 400 graduate students from many ethnic and religious backgrounds to its Lacey campus, and 300 more undergraduate students to its extension campuses located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Centralia College. Visit the Saint Martin’s University website at www.stmartin.edu.
