Women at KU who feel their voices are never heard may finally find listeners on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the 2007 women’s leadership conference “Redefining the Voice in Every Woman.”
The conference lasts from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and will be in the Kansas Room, on the 6th floor of the Kansas Union. The Emily Taylor Women’s Resource Center, the group in charge of the event, decided to make this year’s presentation free. Kathy Rose-Mockry, director of the center, said that she hopes more women will attend because of this decision.
“The women’s conference is always a huge success and often a life-changing experience for those that come,” Rose-Mockry said. “Many students in years past have missed out simply because they could not afford it, so we eliminated that barrier this year.”
Called V.I.E.W. for short, the conference will feature keynote speaker Marlesa Roney, vice provost for Student Success. The center puts on the event at KU every year to promote independence and self-perception in college women.
“The ETWRC is here at KU to raise awareness, get women informed and, most importantly, to get women empowered,” Rose-Mockry said. “The V.I.E.W. conference is probably our most successful program in accomplishing these things and more.”
Though the center runs the conference, KU students plan the majority of its setup. Rose-Mockry has attended the event every year since her arrival here in 1997 and says it always reflects what the students want. Rachel Burchfield, Overland Park, Kan., sophomore, voluntarily works at the center and looks forward to attending an event she helped plan.
“I didn’t know what the ETWRC or conference was all about last year, so I didn’t go,” Burchfield said. “This year, now that I’ve actually played a role in its development, I’m way excited for the conference and what it will offer to us KU ladies.”
Despite no cost and a student-friendly environment, V.I.E.W. is not for everyone. Abbey Faris, Fort Collins, Co., junior, attended last year’s conference and came away disappointed.
“I agreed with most of the ideas mentioned and sympathized with the issues addressed,” Faris said. “But, I think too much of it was boring lecture, not encouragement and helpful advice like I expected. I felt like I was just in another class, only with a lot more girls.”
Rose-Mockry says that this year’s conference will provide more interaction time, where attendees break up into small groups and hear what fellow students have to say. She feels that V.I.E.W. will have a lasting impact on those who attend.
“Women at all levels of college will, without a doubt, hear encouragement they’ll remember for a long time and meet people who can expand their horizons as a woman and student,” Rose-Mockry said. “February 3 is the biggest date marked on my calendar this year.”