From Wonder Woman to Mom's Survival 101, Miami Regionals to focus on health and empowerment during Women’s History Month
written by Ruth Orth, public relations, Middletown campus
Miami University Regionals are sponsoring a number of events for Women's History Month. The events are focusing on women's health and empowerment.
March 2
Film screening and discussion: “Wonder Women!: The Untold Story of American Superheroines,” 4 p.m. in Miami Hamilton’s Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. This PBS documentary is a look at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation.
March 5
Moms' Survival 101: How to Effectively Juggle Work and Motherhood, 1 p.m. in 11 Johnston Hall at Miami Middletown. Megan Spanel, regional associate director of admission, and Ginger Wickline, assistant professor of psychology, will lead a discussion about tips and strategies to juggle motherhood, work or school – or all three. They will be sharing not as experts who have it all figured out but as women in the trenches trying to find balance themselves.
March 9 and 11
Project Prom, 3-6 p.m. in Room 136/137 of Miami Middletown’s Campus & Community Center. Area high school juniors and seniors are eligible for this program with the donation of a new or used children’s book. Participants will be able to choose from new and gently used dresses and accessories at no cost. Participants will be accommodated on a first-come basis. This event is organized by Miami student Sabrina Cox.
March 10
Meet Middletown author Kat Fugate, 4 p.m. in Gardner-Harvey Library at Miami Middletown. Fugate is an English teacher at Middletown High School and the author of the young adult novel Intuitive and its forthcoming 2015 sequel Transcendent. She will read and discuss her writing. This series examines what it would be like if you could bring someone back from the dead and tells a story of relationships intertwined with the supernatural through the eyes of the main character, Miah.
March 10
Book discussion: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1, 4–6 p.m. in Miami Hamilton’s Harry T. Wilks Conference Center. Winona Landis, doctoral candidate in English, will lead a discussion on this groundbreaking comic featuring super heroine Kamala Kahn.
March 11
Helping a Friend in Distress: Practical Skills for Women and Men, 10-11:30 a.m. in 18 Johnston Hall at Miami Middletown. Michelle Vargas, Miami’s project coordinator for suicide awareness and prevention, will lead this session and help you learn how to help someone experiencing distress. The Miami University community should register and complete the online training at http://kognitocampus.com/student, click “access training” and follow on-screen instructions using enrollment key muohio23.
March 12
Local History Makers: How and Why You Need to Get Involved in the Community, 1 p.m. in 11 Johnston Hall at Miami Middletown. Cathy Howell, formerly of the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities; Elaine Garver, Middletown Community Foundation; Ginger Wickline,, assistant professor of psychology; and others will lead a discussion about making a difference in the community. Together, these leaders have over 75 years of community building experience. Learn how and why getting involved is healthy for you, healthy for your community and good for your résumé.
Women’s History Read-In, noon in 114 Rentschler Hall at Miami Hamilton. Listen to and share passages from writings by women and about women’s history, lives and experiences. Bring your own reading or choose one from a variety of books provided by Rentschler Library. A light lunch will be provided.
March 17
Women’s Journeys, Women’s Voices: The Refugee Experience, 2:15–4 p.m. in Room 136/137 of Miami Middletown’s Campus & Community Center. Hear the voices of women refugees living in southwest Ohio. Invitations have been made to refugees from a variety of areas including Bhutan, Burundi, Iraq and Syria. There are over 16 million refugees worldwide registered with the United Nations. The United States welcomes nearly 70,000 refugees per year and in the past year over 2,800 refugees resettled in Ohio. While refugees are among us, in many cases they may be invisible and their voices not heard. For more information, contact Mel Cohen at 513.727.3366 or cohenm1@miamioh.edu.
March 18
Film screening and discussion: “Miss Margaret,” 9:30 a.m. in 202 Johnston Hall at Miami Middletown. This film by Diana Paul chronicles the story of Margaret Charles Smith, a licensed granny midwife who worked in the Jim Crow South. She successfully attended 3,500 home births without a single maternal death and even improvised a homemade incubator. The discussion will be facilitated by Gina Petonito, visiting associate professor in sociology and gerontology.
March 19
Film screening and discussion: “Made Over in America,” 4 p.m. in 117 Johnston Hall at Miami Middletown. Combining the styles of reality TV and experimental documentary, this film by Bernadette Wegenstein and Geoffrey Alan Rhodes explores America’s obsession with body image as it relates to plastic surgery, the makeover industry, the media and the culture at large. The discussion will be facilitated by Caryn Neuman, lecturer in integrative studies.
March 31
Book discussion: Frances Itani’s Deafening, noon in Star Lounge 2, Gardner-Harvey Library at Miami Middletown. The novel follows Grania, a girl who lost her hearing when she was 5 years old, and her family as they learn to accept and adapt to her as a non-hearing person.
Women's History Month Jeopardy, 2 p.m. in Schwarm Hall Commons at Miami Hamilton. Test your knowledge of women in history.
Throughout the month of March, Miami Middletown’s Gardner-Harvey Library will have a special literacy display focused on women authors.
Women’s History event partners include Miami Hamilton’s campus activities committee; Miami Oxford’s department of women’s, gender and sexuality studies; Miami Middletown’s diversity council, Center for Teaching and Learning, Campus Activities Board and Circle K; and the Regionals’ office of the dean, diversity & multicultural services, student affairs, student activities, libraries, Suicide Awareness and Prevention Project and admission.
Events are free and open to the public. For more information on events at the Middletown campus contact (513) 217-4177. For more information on events at Miami Hamilton contact (513) 785-3004.
