Nowadays, female Ohio University students don’t have to worry about curfews, dress codes or blatant discrimination, but women who attended OU in the past did.
The documentary OHIO Women Through the Decades, 1940s-2010s highlights the stories of 16 alumnae and their time from the 1940s through present day. It is the invention of Peggy Viehweger, an alumna whose grandfather was coach Don Peden, the football stadium’s namesake.
The film premieres Wednesday in the Baker University Center Theatre.
“You get a real feel of how women’s lives have changed through all the activities on campus and in our world,” said Dorothy Schey, secretary for Women in Philanthropy and director of development for special fundraising initiatives.
Although the documentary discusses the past 70 years, Schey said the film is still relevant to the present OU audience.
“I think whenever we talk to people from the past, we learn about today and about our future,” she said. “There will be good examples of how to cope with different kinds of change on our campus. … Our students here on campus today will really appreciate what others before them have gone through to pave the way for the opportunities available today.”
In the interest of time, a formal Q&A session might not be held in the theater, but Schey said a discussion would be held in the lounge area on the second floor of Baker Center. Many of the interviewees from the film and members of the project team who assembled the film will be there for questions and a discussion.
In the end, Schey said, students just have to come see the film for themselves.
“It gives a great historical perspective of our university through the eyes of these 16 women,” she said. “It’s hard to imagine how things used to be until you see the documentary.”
@buzzlightmeryl
mg986611@ohiou.edu
