EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville concluded its annual Wom*n’s History Month (WHM) on Monday, March 31, 2025. This year’s theme was Moving Forward Together! Wom*n Educating and Inspiring Generations.
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Speakers, presentations, activities, observances and more were woven throughout March to acknowledge and celebrate women and their contributions. WHM was also a time to inform, inspire and challenge hearts and minds.
Specifically, some of the month’s highlights included the Opening of Wom*n’s History Month with Venessa A Brown, PhD, emerita professor in the Department of Social Work, and sponsored by the Kimmel Belonging and Engagement Hub (K-Hub); “Women’s History Unveiled: Honoring Women Who Changed The World,” sponsored by the SIUE Office of Equal Opportunity, Access, and Title IX (EOA); The Clothesline Project (Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Awareness), hosted by the EOA; Midwest Society for Women in Philosophy (MWSWIP) Conference, hosted by the SIUE Department of Philosophy; the Phenomenal Wom*n Celebration luncheon and honors, coordinated by the K-Hub; “Ella’s Sunday Song,” read by SIUE Communications Director Nicole Franklin and her mother, SIUE alumna Irene Franklin (’74), and co-sponsored by the SIUE Lovejoy Library and the Edwardsville Public Library; and Transgender Day of Visibility, hosted by K-Hub, SIUE Serves and the SIUE Campus Activities Board.
Isaac Fa’amoe, Identity and Belonging program coordinator at the K-Hub, explained the K-Hub’s use of the asterisk in its spelling of wom*n.
“Historically, the word ‘woman’ comes from the Old English ‘wifman (wifmon)’ which is a combination of wif (female, wife) and man (man, human),” explained Fa’amoe. “Woman literally means ‘wife of man,’ thus establishing men as the standard and women as an appendage. To change the language to make it less patriarchal and more inclusive, alternate spellings that removed the word man developed, hence the asterisk in our spelling.”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality education that powerfully transforms the lives of all individuals who seek something greater. A premier metropolitan university, SIUE is creating social and economic mobility for individuals while also powering the workforce of the future. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Home to a diverse student body, SIUE is situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis.
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