Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
Thirty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, the University of Maine will be celebrating women’s history with events themed around “Reproductive Justice: The Struggle Isn’t Over.”
Women’s History Celebration 2010 is sponsored by the Women in the Curriculum and the Women’s Studies programs. The celebration runs from March 16 to 31, and includes lectures, films, a reader’s theater production and a silent auction.
According to Kristina Minott, graduate assistant for Women in the Curriculum, the celebration’s theme was chosen because of current events surrounding a public option for health care.
“There’s all kinds of debate whether abortion should be included,” Minott said. There has been concern that policies will move back to a pre-Roe v. Wade state of being, “which we think is pretty horrible.”
Ann Schonberger, director of the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies programs, emphasized that reproductive health isn’t just a women’s issue.
“Our key audience is always everybody,” she said. “We think that these issues are important for men as well as women.”
The theme was in part chosen to match a guest speaker’s specialties, according to Schonberger.
“We wanted to have our keynote speaker, Loretta Ross,” Schonberger said.
Ross will be giving the keynote address, “Black Women and Reproductive Justice,” on March 18 at 3:30 p.m. in the Bangor Room in Memorial Union. Ross is the national coordinator for SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, which works to educate women and policy makers about reproductive health issues.
Although several of the celebration’s 11 events are based around abortion — including “Jane’s Story: When Abortion was Illegal” and “The Coat Hanger Project,” both of which are films — many other topics are included in the two-week discussion.
“Reproductive justice isn’t just about abortion,” Schonberger said.
The celebration covers “all the ways that women are treated in terms of reproductive health,” Minott said.
Other topics covered in the celebration include homebirths, incarcerated mothers and cross-cultural perspectives on women’s reproductive rights.
A silent auction and dessert buffet to benefit Spruce Run, a domestic abuse resource network based in Bangor, will be held March 20 at 7 p.m. at Buchanan Alumni House. Tickets are $15 per person, which covers the cost of the dessert. At the silent auction, attendees will be able to bid on both services and items — from hand-spun and — dyed wool, to a weekend at a privately owned camp, according to Schonberger.
Tickets should be purchased in advance, if possible, through Spruce Run by calling 945-5102.
The Spruce Run benefit has been put on annually since 1989. It began as an all-you-can-eat chocolate buffet and has been switched to a dessert buffet and silent auction in recent years.
March 24 will see two events: a women’s health fair and a readers’ theater production titled “37 Voices.”
“Women’s Health Fair: It’s About Time” will feature multiple booths and tables sponsored by UMaine and community groups relating to women issues and health concerns. The fair will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Bumps, Totman, FFA and Bangor rooms in the Union. A panel discussion on “Hot Topics in Women’ Health” will take place at noon.
Associates from Mabel Wadsworth Women’s Health Center will perform “37 Voices.” The program is compiled from 37 anonymous women’s stories about abortion experiences. The program was written in honor of the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. The program will be presented at 3:30 p.m. in room 117 of the Donald P. Corbett Business Building.
“This is a very exciting Women’s History Celebration,” Minott said. “I don’t think our topics have been quite as timely in the past.”
The Women’s History Celebration has taken place at UMaine for 20 years. A complete list of events can be found online at umaine.edu/wic.
