Soaking up the Scenery

Today, we presented our new articles to the class. The purpose of the lesson was to select a recent article that involves women in the world today and then present it to the class with some background information and your personal opinion on the topic that the article addresses. Most of the day was spent going through the presentations. I was the second to last to present. My article was on a recent hearing in the Senate where Republicans blocked a bill for pay equity. I stood up and introduced the topic, "the progress women have made in the last 100 years appears to be monumental but when you look at the salary of a women doing the same job as a man, the pay gap is astounding. Women make up 46% of the total U.S. work force yet they make only 77.5 cents for every dollar men make," I announced. Then I informed the class that the bill in question sought to stop companies from retaliating against workers who wanted to question the pay gap and made it acceptable for women to sue their employers for the damages as a result of lower payment.

I felt it was something that every women should be aware of. It effects all of us. Even before we start working ourselves, it effects the women in our lives and it will continue to impact us until something is done about it. Every article presented dealt with a prominent issue and society and I realized how far women have to go before full equality is achieved. 

In addition to student presentations, we also had another guest speaker. Wendy Joan Schiller is a well known professor at Brown. The students all say she's a remarkable teacher and a hard grader. She is originally from Long Island and is now the Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy. She was so inspiring. She was so straight forward and honest about her experiences. She talked about being a strong women in relationships, in school, in work and in the world. 

And Professor Schiller wasn't our only guest today. We also had a panel of current Brown students come to talk to us about their experiences in roles of leadership. They stressed the importance of collaboration and self confidence. Kisa facilitated the first part of the conversation and then opened up the floor for questions. 

Today was really productive and the work didn't stop when class ended at 3:30. Since then, my friends and I have been working on our Action Plans and perfecting them to present on Friday. The week is moving by to quickly and I'm trying my very best to soak up the beautiful scenery and thoughtful conversations as much as I can.