SMC students, faculty present on education
By COLLEEN McCARTHY
Associate News Editor
Several Saint Mary's students and faculty were more than spectators at a women's conference held last weekend at Indiana University-South Bend.
The conference, "Educating Women for a New Millennium: From Childhood to Adulthood," explored different ways of assessing learning styles and how to use education to benefit all students, rather than particular groups. Participants also identified specific issues affecting women's success in the classroom.
Hayley Dawson, a Saint Mary's sophomore, was among students presenting at the conference. Dawson's presentation dealt with the positive effects of sex education in American public schools, an issue she said is critical in the education of girls.
"I've been doing research on if sex education programs work and if they do, what kinds of programs work," Dawson said.
Dawson began her research on sex education in schools last semester as part of a class project. She applied this research to her presentation.
"I believe it is important for today's female adolescents to know what sex entails so they can protect themselves in today's society," said Dawson. "We had a wonderful discussion about the topic, and I could tell from the questions that were being asked that the presentation had really hit home with some people in the audience."
Saint Mary's junior Jennifer Macnak gave a presentation with Fran Kominkiewicz, director of the social work program at Saint Mary's, and students Karla Flores, Marcie Livesay, Tiffany Marko and Deanna Saylor. The presentation dealt with the educational experience at a women's college.
The group began its research in January. Each student chose an article about education at a women's college and presented findings, including anecdotes.
"We talked about how we felt our education at a women's college benefited us going into the workforce as opposed to if we had attended a coed college," Macnak said. "The big thing people focused on was if a single-sex or coeducational school was better. It depends on what your needs are as an individual and what you want to get from the college."
Others from the Saint Mary's community presenting at the conference including Karen Chambers of the psychology department and Susan Alexander of the sociology department, who spoke on "The Impact of Media Exposure and Body Image: A Comparison of Text Versus Video." Catherine Pittman, associate professor of psychology presented "From Your Silence You Will Sing: Finding One's Voice Through Music and Chants in Feminist Pedagogy."
Assistant professor of theatre Katie Sullivan presented "Listen to Our Voices: Two Performance Pieces for Women." Marie Doyle, associate professor and chair of the education department and assistant professor of education Dale Banks presented a workshop on "Math, Science, and Technology: Preparing Girls for the New Millennium."
Student Callie Kusto presented "The Negative Effects of Religion on Women's Views of Their Sexuality."
All News Stories for Monday, April 3, 2000
