Students gathered in the library great room to have a video conference about Women’s History Month with McNeil High School on Thursday, March 24.

Last month, McNeil had a panel for Black History Month focusing on race relations. McNeil Instructional Technology Specialist (ITS) Ms. Krista Tyler thought it would be fun if another school joined them in their Women’s History Month panel. As a result, she invited Westwood to the event, where the schools communicated using Google Hangouts.

“I received the invitation from Ms. Tyler and was excited to have our student voices heard concerning a topic that is so relevant and current in our society,” Westwood ITS Ms. Natosha Daniels said. “My hope was that this panel would spark discussion on our campus, even outside of the panel.”

Attendees discussed a variety of topics in relation to women’s empowerment and gender equality. Since the conference was centered on Women’s History Month, one subject participants talked about was the women who inspired them, which ranged from their grandmas to famous figures like Oprah.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg inspires me as a feminist because she had to work through many obstacles in her life, such as despite graduating number one in her university class, she was refused a job at prestigious law firms,” Angel Hemme ‘19 said. “She also makes her personal views on reproductive and women’s’ rights in general very clear during interviews and other such official events.”

In addition, the concept of feminism itself played an important role in the panel.  

“From what I’ve heard and what I’ve learned from McNeil and from Westwood is that each one of us has an outtake on feminism but we’re all affected in the same way,” Jennifer Harb ‘16 said. “We all somehow have the same opinions that there are some struggles trying to achieve feminism and trying to achieve equal rights. Some way we are all oppressed. It’s nice to learn about what other people are talking about.”

In the end, the conference was a time for students to share their thoughts with peers from another school, and even students from their own school whom they might not normally communicate with.

“We get stuck in our own little bubble sometimes,” Ms. Tyler said. “We know what things are like where we are but not always where others are. It’s important to hear others opinions so you can examine your own.”