This Friday, March 8, to celebrate an International Women’s Day, there will be an Open Mic taking place at Pub 56 at 8 p.m. The event is being hosted by SLU Performing Arts Annex Club, the Dub, SLU Advocates, Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA) and La Sociedad Hispana. Anyone of any gender is welcome to attend, as well as, perform up to two songs, poems or written works originally written or performed by women and/or femmes.

“The Open Mic Night event this Friday is unique as it lands on International Women’s Day and St. Lawrence’s Diversity and Inclusion Week. The purpose of this event is to celebrate women by performing songs and poems written or originally performed by women and femmes,” says PPGA President, Martina Leake ’21. “I think it’s amazing that the event is during Diversity and Inclusion week as well because it emphasizes the comprehensive celebration of people from all backgrounds. I’m very excited the DUB invited PPGA to collaborate on this event. Many women are connected to the reproductive freedoms that our club advocates for and we want them to know that we support them. We want to celebrate the progress women have made internationally and provide optimism for a more inclusive future.”

“The open mic is all about celebrating women in music and art. On top of performances, we’re going to also be decorating the space with photos and fun facts about famous and pioneering women in the arts,” says the DUB theme house coordinator, Kate Angus ’19. “I think an event like this is important because even though women have made strides in music, it’s still an often underrepresented voice in the industry, and having a space to celebrate and honor women’s voices and stories through art is an inherently feminist concept. We did a similar event last year and it was great to see what specific musicians and songs people brought to the open mic, because it’s always a really fun, wide range, and I always leave with a new artist to look up,” explains Angus.

“The mission of the Advocates Program is to support survivors. We believe that music, art and performance are great ways to express yourself and share your story. As an organization, we value listening, as it is critical when supporting others. The International Women’s Day Open Mic Night is a great opportunity to listen to and support one another as a community,” says SLU Advocates President, Audrey DeBritz ’20.

St. Lawrence Diversity and Inclusion Week is dedicated to raising awareness about the rich variety of backgrounds experiences on campus and the many ways we can foster inclusion by learning from one another and having conversations, contemplating the critical role of diversity on this campus and celebrating one another. This spring the theme for the week is Diversity & Inclusion: Conversation, Contemplation, Celebration.”