Apprentice star headlines Women ' s Awareness Month

Beginning last week, the Women ' s Resource Center (WRC) kicked off a month-long series of events highlighting women ' s issues as part of this year ' s Women ' s Awareness Month.

What began as Women ' s Awareness Week in the spring of 1997 quickly grew into a month of activities that celebrate womanhood, but also address serious issues that women face today.

" The mission of Women ' s Awareness Month is to raise awareness of women ' s potential and accomplishments on campus and in society, but also...to provoke thought and questioning about issues that women face in our society, " said Yvette Upton, assistant dean and director of the WRC.

This year ' s Women ' s Awareness Month committee was chaired by Chelsea Cooper, a fifth-year Management major. The committee worked with other campus groups to bring back some previous years ' events, as well as organize new activities.

One of the biggest events planned for this month is the keynote address, which features Amy Henry, a former contestant on NBC ' s The Apprentice. Henry was the one of the three finalists and the last woman standing during the show ' s first season.

" We wanted to bring her to campus because we knew [that] a lot of students watch the show [and] knew who she was, " Upton said. She added that Henry ' s connection to a prominent figure such as Donald Trump would appeal to many Tech students.

However, Henry ' s TV popularity was not the only reason she was chosen to be this year ' s keynote speaker.

According to Cooper, Henry ' s femininity, coupled with her ability to be a successful businesswoman, make her a good role model for Tech ' s female students.

" Something that I ' ve noticed on the Georgia Tech campus is that sometimes women feel like they have to act like men in order to be successful, " Cooper said. " Engineering majors are dominated by males, and [women] feel as if they have to hide their femininity. "

Henry, Cooper said, is successful in her career, and at the same time, " she ' s also very feminine...she wears makeup...and is not afraid of being a woman. "

The WRC ' s production of Eve Ensler ' s The Vagina Monologues is also returning this year with a new director, Suehyla El-Attar, a new venue in the Student Center Ballroom, and two performances - one this past Thursday and another on Mar. 17 - to give more students the opportunity to see the show.

This marks the third year that Tech has participated in a national " V-Day " campaign, where college students across the country participate in their own productions of the monologues to raise money for local organizations that address violence against women.

" I think what ' s powerful about the show...is that it really frees you to be able to share some things about your personal life that are not as unusual as you thought they were, " Upton said.

Upton also added that the performance helps generate dialogue about issues that may not otherwise exist; it has remained controversial since its debut on campus three years ago.

In addition to the keynote address and the performance of The Vagina Monologues, another important event is Take Back the Night, where students gather at the Campanile to hear real stories of sexual violence and participate in a candlelight vigil to remember victims and survivors.

" [The event] is really important because it gives us a chance to help the campus community understand that there are things that we don ' t think of as violence, " said Upton, who pointed out that 80 percent of women who are victims of sexual violence are assaulted by someone they know.

Take Back the Night, like other Women ' s Awareness Month events, is open not just to women but also to all member of the campus community.

" This is as important for men to know as it is for women to know, " Cooper said. " It is not so much a feminist issue as it is a human issue. "

There is a lighter side to the month ' s activities as well. Tech ' s first all-female comedy show is set to take place Saturday, March 12 at Under the Couch.

" There aren ' t a lot of women who participate in the comedy open-mic nights here on campus, " Upton said. This event, she said, will give them a chance " to show that women can do comedy " as well.

Some events that have already taken place include a movie series sponsored by the Center for the Study of Women in Science and Technology, a documentary screening on violence against women, and a " Ladies Day " at the CRC.

The Vagina Monologues, Amy Henry ' s keynote address and Take Back the Night are all scheduled to take place in the next two weeks.

For a complete schedule of WAM events, visit cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/wam.