The MSU Women’s Center will present a Sack Lunch Seminar on Wednesday, February 24th from noon-1pm in the SUB, room 168. MSU Body Project: Changing the Culture One Woman at a Time will discuss how the current culture and mass media promote the value and worth of an individual based on their appearance. This ubiquitous pressure for females can be a precipitator to eating disorders. Body Project is an evidence-based, peer-lead workshop that counters the message of the culture by enhancing body acceptance and encouraging a positive sense of self. This program has been shown to: reduce the internalization of our cultural thin-ideal, decrease negative mood and unhealthy eating patterns, and reduce the risk of eating disorders. Julie Goyette, MS, RDN and MSU Nutritionist, along with the Body Project panel, will discuss how the media has impacted their experiences and how Body Project has reshaped their thinking related to their body and self-worth. The MSU Body Project aims to create a campus environment that speaks a consistent message around the topic of body acceptance.
The MSU Women’s Center, along with co-sponsoring campus colleges and departments, is very excited to announce that Anita Sarkeesian, prominent feminist video blogger and public speaker, will visit campus as the 2016 presenter for the Shannon and Frances Weatherly Memorial Lecture.
Join on Wednesday, March 2nd at 6pm in SUB Ballroom A on the MSU campus for this free lecture brought to you by the Shannon Weatherly Memorial Lecture Fund, as well as the following Montana State University entities: Department of Computer Science; Jake Jabbs College of Business and Entrepreneurship; College of Engineering; College of Agriculture; College of Letters and Science; College of Nursing; College of Education, Health and Human Development; Office of Activities and Engagement; Diversity Awareness Office; VOICE Center, and The Leadership Institute. Ms. Sarkeesian’s lecture: “I’ll Make a Man Out of You: Redefining Strong Female Characters,” will give the audience an exciting opportunity to learn about and question gender roles in videogames and the popular media. Ms. Sarkeesian is a distinguished speaker and writer–her accomplishments include: One of Time Magazine’s 100 most important people for 2015; Founder of Feminist Frequency, a website examining women’s roles in pop culture. Most recently, Feminist Frequency has partnered with Intel to help create more positive representations of women in gaming; Creator of Tropes vs. Women in Video Games, a video blog series examining women’s portrayal in gaming; Guest on The Colbert Report in 2014; Recipient of the Ambassador Award at the 14th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards; and she holds a Master’s degree in Social and Political Thought from Canada’s York University. This lecture is free and open to the public. For further information, please contact the Women’s Center at 994-3836 or danforth@montana.edu.
The MSU Women’s Center is a department in the division of Student Success and was created to promote greater responsiveness to the needs of university women. Their focus is to empower women and create an equitable campus environment by offering educational programs to the university population about gender and women’s issues.
The Center is open to all students, staff, faculty, and community members, male and female. The Center is physically accessible and a place for students to stop by, relax, and explore their concerns, issues, and options through information and conversation. Campus and community members are encouraged to become involved in the Center through work-study, volunteer, and internship positions. Hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm during the academic year when classes are in session.
For more information, visit montana.edu/women/. •
