Women's HERstory
Mon March 13
Guest Author/Scholar
Melanie Klein
Mindfulness, Personal Empowerment + Collective Liberation
Forum 1:00-2:30
Combining personal narrative, theory and mindfulness practices, Melanie Klein, MA offers a paradigm of empowerment that combines personal transformation with collective liberation. Melanie Klein, MA is a successful speaker and professor of sociology and women’s studies as well as an internationally recognized and sought-after empowerment coach and thought leader in authentic empowerment. Her expertise has enabled her to write, edit, or contribute to nine books on these topics, including the groundbreaking and award-winning anthology, Yoga & Body Image.
Thurs March 23
PRACTICAL SAFETY AWARENESS SELF-DEFENSE WORKSHOP
Join Moorpark College Criminal Justice Professor, Chad Basile in a practical safety awareness and self-
defense workshop featuring his adaptation and modern application of ancient martial art techniques based upon the oldest continuously taught martial arts system in Japan. Dai Shihan (Senior Master) Basile will relate the more than 1000-year-old self-defense skills transmitted directly to him by the 34th lineal Grand Master, Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi of Japan. Dr. Hatsumi, 91 years young, is designated as a Living Cultural Treasure of Japan.
Link to Registration/Sign-up form
HerStory Candid Conversations w/ MC Faculty & Staff
Tues March 7
Careers and Higher Education Roundtable
Campus Center Conference Room 10:00-11:15am
What challenges do women face in careers and higher education? Join us to discuss ways to navigate those challenges and identify opportunities. Facilitators: Veronique Boucquey, Department of Psychology; Rebecca Gresh, Department of Sociology; Celine Park, Department of Career Services.
WED March 15
Our Feelings Are Our Most Genuine Paths to Knowledge:
Cross-Generational & Intersectional Fish Bowl Activity by Audre Lorde
Campus Center Conference Room 2:00-3:15
We invite you to join us in participating in community-in-action: a panel of four women sharing their stories about their personal experiences with sexual harassment in the workplace/academia. This cross-generational, intersectional panel discussion aims to facilitate conversation and resource sharing where there has historically been silence. A representative from the Student Health Center will be present to give information about reporting issues on our campus.
Panelists: Deb Brackley, Crystal Salas,
Daniella Mbabazi, Jessi Hauger and Melanie Justice
Mon March 20
A Brief History of American Women Reproductive Rights
Campus Center Conference Room 1:30-2:45
Professor Susan Kinkella will discuss the historical views on women’s sexuality, motherhood and the struggle and controversy over women’s reproductive rights in American History.
Wed March 29
“The Ghost Mother”
Storytelling as a place of Healing…
Campus Center Conference Room 10:00-11:15am
English professors and writers Sandra Hunter and Tamarra Coleman will share selections from their upcoming books to open a conversation about identity and culture and history and our relationships with our mothers.
A LETTER FROM DR. SOKENU
I want to remind you to celebrate the women in your lives everyday, and especially during March, Women’s History Month. We take this month to acknowledge the contributions of women from all backgrounds in America and our local communities. This is an opportunity to reflect on the courage of women from previous generations as well as now, and be motivated to continue supporting the rights of women everyday.
From its start in Manhattan in 1909 as National Women’s Day to the United Nations declaring International Women’s Day in 1910, the immense impact women have had in education, STEM, the arts, medicine, government, activism and many other disciplines has shaped who we are. We are a better, smarter and more ethical nation because of the women who challenged the status quo while supporting the human capacity of those around them. We honor the trailblazers and commit to making the world a more inclusive place.
By the time Congress declared the whole month of March as Women’s History Month in 1987, there was little question as to the rights American women have earned. Our goal now is to continue to acknowledge the contributions of women worldwide and raise a generation of men and boys who respect women for their actions and elevate them for their genius and humanity.
Commemorate with us, study, encourage, and observe the vital role of women in American history, in world history, this month and always. Happy Women’s HERstory Month!
Award Winning Author on Main Stage
Susan Straight @Moorpark College April 12
Our keynote speaker will discuss her new novel, the ambitious and enthralling “Mecca,” is set, like nearly all her fiction, in the Inland Empire and high desert areas. The native tobacco plants, the San Jacinto range, the baked-in racism — all are seen through the eyes of the overlooked and written-off. The citrus pickers. The old Latina woman living on inherited land, scared the county will take it away. The Black boy with braids who drops his phone in front of a cop. None of them take history lightly because it’s written too much of their destiny. Read the LA TIMES ARTICLE
ANGIE THOMAS @MC
Born, raised, and still living in Jackson, Mississippi, Ms Thomas is a former teen rapper and holds a BFA in creative writing from Belhaven University. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr. Join Angie in a special Moorpark College featured ZOOM event, April 19 @1PM.
MARCH 2022 EVENTS
Friday, March 11: 12:30-1:30PM
A Talk with Local Elected Officials
Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, Simi Valley Councilwoman Ruth Luevanos, Board Trustees: Gabriela Torres and Dianne McKay will all share their experience as women and elected officials. Moderated by our Interim VP of Academic Affairs, Mary Rees. ZOOM LINK
Tuesday, March 15: 1-2:30PM
"Our Bodies Ourselves: Breaking Stigmas around Female bodies"
Film screening of 30-minute documentary: Period. End of a Sentence.
Panel discussion following the film with faculty and staff about the film and the stigmas surrounding menstruation and female bodies in our culture and other parts of the world. ZOOM LINK
Tuesday, March 16 FREE MOVIE NIGHT
Movie: TBD
Time: 7 PM
Location: Outside Cafeteria in the MC Quad
Tuesday, March 22: 3-4:00pm
Presenter: Patty Colman, History Faculty
"Building Fences and Breaking Barriers: Women Homesteaders of the Santa Monica Mountains"
The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed any citizen who was the "head of household" to make a claim on 160 acres of land. But who qualified as "head of household?" Join us for a conversation about sex, gender, and patriarchy and learn about some remarkable local women homesteaders. ZOOM LINK
Monday March 1st @ 12:30-1:30
The presence of women on college campuses, both as faculty and students, seems commonplace to us today. However, things looked very different even 50 years ago. Join History Professor Susan Kinkella while she reviews the obstacles women faced to gain access to American colleges and universities, and hear what it’s like to be a professor today. Featuring MC College Faculty Members: Prof. Cynthia Barnett, Prof. Rachel Messinger, Professor Beth Miller and Prof. Giselle Ramirez
Thursday March 11th @ 3:00-4pm
Pat Payne aka The Velvet Hammer enjoys creating stunning works of beauty in any and all mediums and disciplines. She is Caribbean-American multi-media installation/performance artist, self-published poet, visual artist, costume designer, reluctant shaman, entrepreneur and self-avowed troublemaker. She is the reigning Taos Poetry Circus Heavyweight Champion, after back-to-back wins in 2002/03
Friday March 12th @ 11am
Women's Leadership Panel Presentation
President Sokenu will be hosting a panel discussion during his President's Student Leadership Forum. Join us for a discussion with a panel of women who are in leadership roles in Ventura County to learn about their experiences and advice to our students who are participants in this year's President's Leadership cohort. The women leaders will are:
• Tiffany Morse, Superintendent, Ojai Unified School District
• Gabriela Torres, Trustee, Ventura County Community College District
• Carmen Ramirez, District 5 Supervisor, Ventura County
• Aleyah Ewing, Activist, Simi Valley
• Regina Biddings-Muro, Vice President, California Lutheran University
• Jennifer Swenson, President, Simi Valley Adventist Hospital
Thursday March 18th – 12noon-1:30pm
"Women in Film: Under-representation and misrepresentation of women in the entertainment industry"
Students and Faculty and Staff can watch the 96 minute film, This Changes Everything, for free through the portal on Kanopy ahead of the discussion: https://moorparkcollege.kanopy.com/video/changes-everything-1