Thursday, Mar 12, 2015
U.S. Olympic Bobsled driver Jazmine Fenlator ’07 is the keynote speaker
by Sarah Brown '15
Is there sexism in the video game Mega Man? This question and many others will be addressed by students and faculty at the 33rd annual Gender and Sexuality Studies Colloquium on Thursday, March 12. The event celebrates students for their research and contributions in the field of gender studies.
Throughout the day, students will present and discuss papers they have written regarding sexuality and gender for their classes this past year. These papers have been grouped into several panels that will be held in Sweigart Auditorium, room 116.
From 9:45 to 11 a.m., there will be a panel focusing on “Cultural Representations of Gender." The student presenters are Jonathan Murphy, Caroline Forde '16, Samantha Traina '17, and Rachel Jensen '15.
The “Manifestations of Sexism in Popular Culture” panel will run from 3 to 4:20 p.m. with student presenters Abigail Kempson, Gerald DeMattia '15, Petra Gaskins '15, and Breanne Needles '16.
The presentations conclude with the “Sexuality and Sex-Based Activism” panel from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The student presenters for this panel are Peri Himsel '15, Kelsey Mahon '17, Haley Johnston '16 and Nasser Zayer '15.
In addition, the GSS Award ceremony will be held starting at 1 p.m. in the Bart Luedeke Center Theater. The Ziegler-Gee Award will be presented to Assistant Professor Nowell Marshall and Nikita Mycyk ’16, who is this year’s recipient of the Virginia Cyrus Scholarship. "I was surprised when I heard I was receiving the award,” Mycyk says. “I am very excited and thankful for it."
After they receive their awards, Olympic bobsled athlete and Rider alumna Jazmine Fenlator '07 will be be honored with the Sesquicentennial Medal of Excellence, one of the special awards given to notable alumni in celebration of Rider's 150th anniversary. Following this, she will join in the spirit of the colloquium with her own presentation, "Racing Through Barriers,” in which she will discuss the difficulties of being a woman pursuing a career in sports. There will be a reception in the BLC Theater Lobby following her discussion.
Dr. Mary Morse, associate professor of English, coordinated the event and hopes for a good turnout. "Gender and sexuality issues affect all of our lives," Morse says. "Our student panelists will demonstrate how perceptions of gender and sexuality influence our responses to sports, literature, politics, music, and media. I hope that our colloquium will make students more aware of the ways that gender and sexuality permeate American culture."
For more information about the colloquium or about becoming a Gender and Sexuality Studies minor, contact Dr. Mary Morse at [email protected].