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Renowned feminist activist and writer Gloria Steinem will visit UNM on Monday.
Steinem will give the keynote for the Women’s Resource Center and Women’s Studies Program’s 40-year celebration. At the banquet, Steinem’s keynote, called “Women’s Legacies Inspiring the Future,” will celebrate gains the Women’s Movement has achieved since the inception of WRC and the Women’s Studies Program at UNM.
Steinem has written several books and been involved with various publications. She has received awards for her written work, including the Lifetime Achievement in Journalism Award. She has also been instrumental in creating feminist groups, councils and committees including the National Women’s Political Caucus. She tours the country giving talks on issues of gender equality.
WRC director Summer Little said the banquet will not only mark 40 years of the center’s existence and the women’s studies program, but also 40 years for Steinem’s popular publication, “Ms. Magazine,” and the passing of Title IX legislation, which guarantees equal education opportunities for women.
“That women’s centers and women’s studies programs were all coming out at the same time, out of this same movement is really important,” Little said. “They’re all connected.”
The event includes a banquet, a silent auction and selected materials from the Bookstore available for purchase, including issues of Steinem’s magazine and other published works.
Little said that between 500 and 600 people are expected to attend the event. She said she hopes the event will help people get more involved with the women’s movement.
“Gloria Steinem is a very inspiring speaker,” she said. “(We want) people to gain an understanding of the history of where we’ve come from and where we need to go.”
All proceeds from the auction and ticket sales will go to support the Sabrina Single Mother’s Scholarship offered by WRC. The scholarship awards $500 every spring to a single mother in need to help her stay in school.
Little said that, because of years of outreach and student support programs, WRC and WSP are an integral part of the UNM community.
“We’ve done a lot of advocating over the years for policies that enhance gender equity,” she said.
Little said student input has been instrumental in creating programs that serve a broad base of women on campus, such as breast-feeding rooms, (there are 11 on campus) family-friendly computer pods and study sessions for women with children.
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Ambar Calvillo, an employee at WRC, said organizing the event required a lot of people and support and that a number of students volunteered time and works of art for the silent auction. She said the event will not only be a celebration, but will give people the opportunity to take advantage of resources at WRC they may not have known about.
“If students want to grow as leaders, they might find the Women’s Resource Center to be a hub for that,” she said.
Women’s Resource Center and Women’s Studies Program 40th Anniversary Celebration with Gloria Steinem
Monday, 6 p.m.
SUB Ballrooms
Dinner: $60 general admission, $30 students
Keynote only: $20 general admission, $15 students
