Buttons and stickers reading “Keep your laws off our bodies” and “Empowered women empower women” covered tables in the lobby of Talley Student Union on March 1 for the Women’s HERstory Month Kickoff. 

The event provided students with activities such as friendship bracelet making and origami that promoted connection, creativity and mindfulness. The Women’s Center also gave students snacks and goodie bags containing a lavender sachet, moisturizer, lip balm and a heart-shaped worry stone. 

Lauren Ramos, a third-year studying fashion and textile management, attended the event. She said the crafting tables helped connect students by providing a conversation starter as well as a reminiscent feeling of girlhood.   

Ramos also said this Women’s History Month is important for bringing awareness to the current state of the nation regarding women’s rights. 

“We think we’re so advanced in our nation, and I feel like we’re really not,” Ramos said. “Well, we’re going backwards at the moment, so this is a really important month.” 

The kickoff also highlighted events the Women’s Center is holding during March to honor women’s achievements and promote healing and connection among students.

Rosalinda Kowalczewski, assistant director for the Women’s Center said this Women’s HERstory Month’s theme centers around the hummingbird and the butterfly, creatures who symbolize grace, resilience and transformation. 

“It’s something small, but also very powerful,” Kowalczewski said. “And there’s so many different variations of a hummingbird, but at the same time, they’re all the same bird. It ties into the community and intersectionality and identity within women.”  

During the event, the Women’s Center announced four specialized events to help signify the start of Women’s History Month: 

Women of Color Brunch

Multicultural Student Affairs, in collaboration with the Women’s Center, will hold a brunch in Talley Student Union Room 3222 on March 6, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. While it is a woman-of-color-centered space, the brunch is open to all students as long as they RSVP. 

“It’ll be a space where they can do some crafts, affirmations, things like that, and celebrate being a woman of color or with the women of color community,” Kowalczewski said. 

360 Visualization Gallery

Located on the third floor of D.H. Hill Jr. Library from March 20-22, the gallery will focus on influential women in NC State’s history. The gallery will continue the symbolism of “taking flight” seen in this month’s inspiration of butterflies and hummingbirds.

The exposition will feature stories of women like Christina Koch, who set the record for the longest female single space flight and participated in the first all-female spacewalk, and the women behind an NC State air flight team called “Angel Wings.”  

There will also be an interactive social media aspect of the exhibit where students can take photos in front of an installation of butterfly wings. If students post the image and tag the Women’s Center on Instagram, they will receive a free T-shirt. 

Crafting + Connecting

On Thursdays throughout March there will be crafting and connecting events where students can make beaded bracelets and necklaces as well as earrings featuring influential women in history. 

Penelope Chirolde, a graduate student studying clinical mental health counseling and graduate assistant at the Women’s Center, said counselors will be present and available to help students in any way they need. 

International Women’s Day at the Teaching Kitchen

In the Carmichael Recreation Center Teaching Kitchen, on March 27, from 2-5 p.m., students will have the opportunity to create pastry dishes inspired by flavors from around the world. 

The menu will feature empanadas, croissants and pastries with flavors including, but not limited to, guava and cream cheese, mushroom and leek and vegetarian picadillo. The goal behind the event is to use cooking to share stories, culture and history while reclaiming a space for women. 

“We want to reclaim that space as it’s been an international space across cultures, women and people have come together as a community to grow, share stories, share language, share history,” Kowalczewski said. 

The event is limited to 15 students, who will be randomly selected after filling out an interest form.