By HARLEE BOEHM
assistant news editor

Gannon University’s Black Student Union is set to hold a panel discussion titled “Walking in a Woman’s Footsteps” Thursday to bring awareness to Women’s History Month.
This event will be held from 7-9 p.m. in Room 104 of the Zurn Science Center.
According to Erika Thomas, a junior criminal justice major and president of the Black Student Union, this panel will be discussing a variety of topics that involve women. Aspects such as women’s empowerment, career life and relationships will all be touched on during the event.
Thomas said that the event was created to inform attendees and to spark a new conversation.
“We wanted to discuss topics that mainly pertained to women and to educate those that attend,” Thomas said. “A lot of people don’t understand that in some areas, women are considered the minority and we go through a lot.”
Thomas said the inspiration for this event came from the fact that March is Women’s History Month. The Black Student Union strives to hold informative events regarding certain months, such as Black History Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Women’s History Month.
Lydia Bundy, a junior health management major and vice president of the Black Student Union, said that she wants those who attend to take new information away from the event.
“It is my hope that the attendees leave this event with more of an insight on at least one, if not all, of these topics,” Bundy said.
Thomas said she wants student and faculty participation in order to support the speakers who will be attending this event. The speakers will include students and staff from Gannon’s campus.
Bundy said that getting involved in this panel will allow attendees to talk about serious issues that may not be discussed otherwise.
Thomas said that this panel is important because it will bring to light a discussion of issues that women face every day, but may not talk about openly. This event will give students an opportunity to discuss these topics in a safe, calm and nonjudgmental environment.
The event will also feature a question and answer segment, which will open up the discussion to those who attend to ask the panel members questions.
Thomas said that the goal of this event is to educate students in a way that can bring about a positive change in society.
“We want people to come out of the panel enlightened, motivated to do great things and to lift up women,” Thomas said.
Students are encouraged to attend this event in order to learn something new and leave with a better understanding of women’s history.

HARLEE BOEHM
[email protected]