Breastival Festival 12 – 5 p.m. WHERE: Main quad WHAT: Women’s Initiative will set up tables and activities promoting women’s reproductive and breast health. Students can participate in a dunking booth, condom crafts, Coca Cola giveaways and cookie decorating, among other projects. CONTACT: Women’s Initiative at wi@ausg.org.
Women’s Initiative will descend on the quad for Breastival 2010: Treasure Your Chest Tuesday at noon to put on activities promoting women’s reproductive and breast health. The Breastival is a yearly women’s health festival sponsored by Women’s Initiative. The event originated at Johns Hopkins University-Homewood campus in 2001. The Breastival has since been recreated at over 100 universities across America, as well as in Canada and the Middle East. AU participated for the first time in 2005, making this the sixth-annual festival at the University. The event began as a way to disseminate information about the dangers of breast cancer to a younger, often overlooked audience. Women’s Initiative has broadened the focus in recent years to include activities on safe sex and other reproductive health issues. About 2,000 students attended last year’s Breastival, according to Quinn Pregliasco, director of Women’s Initiative.
Gloria Steinem, presented by the Kennedy Political Union 8:15 p.m. WHERE: Ward 1 WHAT: Feminist icon Gloria Steinem will speak to students about her experiences fighting for equality. In addition to gender issues, Steinem studies race caste systems, conflict resolution and indigenous culture. CONTACT: Josh Levitt at josh.levitt@ausg.org.
Second-wave feminist leader Gloria Steinem will address AU students Tuesday evening, thanks to a collaboration of Women’s Initiative and Kennedy Political Union. Steinem founded feminist publication Ms. Magazine in 1972 and championed the Women’s Action Alliance and the National Women’s Political Caucus. Now she continues to speak on civil rights issues internationally. In an interview on her website, Steinem said the greatest challenge collectively facing women today is physical safety and reproductive health. “[Steinem] really thinks that everyone’s futures depend upon each other,” said Quinn Pregliasco, director of Women’s Initiative. “It’s really the support of both men and women that will bring us to equality.”
