The phrase “Making a Difference” can have various meanings.
To M. Geneva Murray, the phrase is an encouragement for individuals to take action.
“(It’s a) call to action for us to think about what it is that we can be doing to improve the lives of women,” Murray, the director of the Women’s Center, said. “(Whether it be) in our workplaces, in our personal lives, in the state, in the nation (or) in the world.”
OU’s Women’s Center will be celebrating its annual International Women’s Day Festival at Baker Center this weekend. Although International Women’s Day falls on March 8, the festival will be held Sunday, March 9, in celebration of Women’s History Month.
In conjunction with the United Nations' theme “Be Bold for Change,” the subtheme “Making a Difference” was chosen by the Women’s Center to recognize the work done by women leaders across the globe, Emily Dacquisto, the program coordinator of the Women’s Center, said.
“It brings a sense of community in Athens with people from campus as well as just other families and folks from the community,” Dacquisto said. “It brings everyone together in celebration of women, and I think that’s really special.”
Among the performances, presentations and vendors that are held every year, this year’s event will also feature a blood drive, which will take place throughout the event on the fifth floor of Baker Center, Dacquisto said.
The Women’s Center has also partnered with the Hungry Cat food truck to prepare a special menu for event attendees directly outside the first floor of Baker, she said.
Helen Cumberbatch, a graduate student studying higher education and student affairs, said the event is also an opportunity to empower women and celebrate diversity.
“For too long we’ve seen women be each other’s enemies (and) criticize each other,” she said. “Why not support (and) celebrate each other, who we are as women, what makes us unique, what is different about us?” Cumberbatch, who will be one of the hosts for the event, said.
As one of the few students from Bolivia at OU, Gabriela Fuentes believes the event is a perfect opportunity to “show a little bit of our culture.”
Fuentes, a graduate student studying communication development, will be performing a Bolivian dance called “cueca” with her mother. Beneath the “fun parts” of these kinds of events, there’s an important message about fighting for equal rights that begins with the self, Fuentes said.
“'Making a Difference' is … accepting your culture, your context (and) being in a place where you a have a lot of nationalities together,” she said. “(People) are different, and I think difference is the only things that humans have in common.”
Following last year’s theme of gender equity, Murray said this year’s theme also highlights the importance of taking action.
“There’s only so much that consciousness raising is going to get us. There also has to be practical steps,” she said. “For example, what are the policies that are put in place that’s going to improve women’s access to equal pay for equal work?”
Olivia Cobb, a junior studying English, will perform spoken-word poetry that highlights her experience of being a woman and “taking up space.”
“(Poetry) is a really powerful way to share my identity and experience … with a lot of people in a way that they can connect with without demanding that they understand it perfectly,” Cobb said.
Cobb said she hopes her performance makes “people feel things, think things and want to do things.”
“It’s really important to (have) space for voices, and I think having an International Women’s Day leaves a lot of space for voices and makes it really urgent and important to hear those voices,” she said.
Murray said she hopes attendees will leave the event feeling connected to women around the world.
“To know that when we’re talking about women’s rights, we’re not just talking about our own,” Murray said. “We’re talking about what women’s rights look like for other people with cultural sensitivity (and) with an awareness of difference, but with recognition that we all deserve more.”
