At the culmination of a long and successful year in journalism, the journalists wanted to celebrate the end of the year. And the best way they knew how came in the form of a bake-off. As the bake-off used to be an annual event, this year’s journalism class hoped to continue the tradition.
The common misconception about Women’s History Month is that the culture is diminishing what it means to be a woman by confining it to one month. However, it is meant to highlight women, to bring to light how important women are.
A group of senior girls in the free period room got together to talk about how important Women’s History Month is to them. When asked the girls what the hardest part about being a woman was, senior Emma Watkins said, “Female maintenance standards. For example, shaving. Women get shamed for not shaving or being completely smooth.” I asked how she felt about the expectation to shave, and if we should all be expected to shave or none of us should have to. Emma replied, “I think you do what you want to do.”
The expectation to shave was brought about by consumerism. When men left to fight in World War II, razor companies had lost their target marketing group. So, they decided to change their audience and convince women to shave. Ever since then, it has become an expectation and a guideline for women to follow.
But International Women’s Month is not something only to be celebrated by women; its a month of recognition for women, but senior Billy Stepp reflects on the importance of women in his life. Stepp was adjusting his broken backpack when he said, “I love my mom and I’m so thankful for her because she always sews my clothes and backpack.” Stepp continued, “My mom shaped me into the person I am today.”
Senior Garrett Huggins said, “I’m so thankful for so many teachers at this school, especially Mrs. Morris. She’s my role model.” Sophomore Ellie Archer said, “I’m so thankful for Mrs. Brooker, she always encourages me and really inspires me.” Students reflect on their favorite female teachers and staff at Wesleyan as there are so many wonderful women who are employed.
This shows students how lucky they are to not only attend Wesleyan, but to have so many wonderful teachers that they look up to as well. Because out of the world’s 123 million illiterate youth, 76 million are female. Even with extended effort and outreach programs that provide women with access to education in third world countries, the female literacy rate is still under fifty percent.
This is why Women’s History Month is so important. It not only brings to light and highlights important women in history, but also shows what the population still has to work on. There has been a lot of change in the past. From women’s suffrage to gaining access to education for women in less developed countries, freedoms for women have come a long way. Yet there is still so much more to accomplish, and together, the world can accomplish this.
School shootings are just as American as apple pie. As of 2012, America’s rate of gun homicide has more than tripled the rate of gun homicides in other developed countries, averaging 29.7 homicides per 1 million people. It is universally known that gun violence is a big problem, but the question is, how do we handle it? Keep Reading
As the tradition goes, every year on Feb. 2, a groundhog comes out of his den to tell the world whether there will be six more weeks of winter or an early spring. This day of wonder is known as Groundhog Day, and if you were wondering how meteorologists predict the weather, this is not it. Keep Reading
2017 was an arduous year for the United States. Deemed the deadliest year for mass shootings in U.S. history, the country finished the year with around 307 mass shootings. Police killed 1,147 people, and there was a substantial number of bombings in public places. England and France also made notable headlines in the U.S. However, 11.5 percent of Syria’s population has been killed or injured since 2011, proving that is it much rarer to see news like that make headlines in first-world countries.
